Boko Haram kills 55 in Borno villages

Boko Haram fighters have killed at least 55 people in Bale and Kayamla villages, two communities near Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Residents who spoke with AFP said the insurgents also burnt several homes after looting them before proceeding to the outskirts of Maiduguri, where they were crushed by troops.

“They killed 30 people in Kayamla and another 25 in Bale,” a vigilante official, Abacha Zinnari, said.

A resident of Bale, Husseini Ari, said the community on Thursday buried 25 people killed in the previous day’s raid while several others who were injured were taken to hospital.

“The village is mourning the death of 25 people killed in the Boko Haram attack who were buried yesterday,” Ari said.

A group of heavily armed Boko Haram fighters late Wednesday had launched an offensive on Maiduguri city which was repelled by troops from a military base on the outskirts of the city, according to the military and residents.

At least three soldiers, six vigilantes and dozens of Boko Haram insurgents were reportedly killed during clashes in Maiduguri on Wednesday evening, it was learnt.

The assault was the first on Maiduguri for three months and came after massive offensive attacks against Boko Haram strongholds by combined troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

The insurgents had raided Bale and Kayamla before the foiled assault on Maiduguri but the story was slow to emerge following a round-the-clock curfew imposed on the city by the military on Thursday, which restricted movements.

“The gunmen burnt around 50 houses and looted food stores and livestock,” said Ari, adding that the insurgents targeted homes they identified as belonging to vigilantes in the village.

Musa Kumbo, a resident of Kayamla, said at least 30 people were killed in the Boko Haram raid on the village and surrounding settlements.

“The attackers were heard shouting they would come back and finish their operation once they were done with Maiduguri,” Kumbo said.