Dozens killed in Boko Haram attack on village in northeastern Nigeria

A Boko Haram flag flutters from an abandoned command post. (Stephane Yas/AFP)

Suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked Mafa village in
northeastern Nigeria, killing at least 81 people. The attack was reportedly in retaliation for the killing
of two Boko Haram fighters by local vigilantes. The insurgency in the region has been ongoing for 15
years.

Dozens of people have been killed
after suspected fighters from the Boko Haram hardline group attacked a village
in northeastern Nigeria, setting fire to shops and homes.

The attack took place on Sunday afternoon.

“Around 150 suspected Boko Haram terrorists armed with
rifles and RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) attacked Mafa ward on more than 50
motorcycles,” said Dungus Abdulkarim, a police spokesperson in Yobe State
where the village is located.

“They killed many people and burned many shops and
houses. We are yet to ascertain the actual number of those killed in the
attack.”

Abdulkarim said the attack was apparent retaliation for the
killing of two suspected Boko Haram fighters by local vigilantes.

Yobe is one of three states on the front line of a 15-year
insurgency by Boko Haram and other hardline groups, which has killed tens
of thousands of people and displaced more than 2 million. The armed groups have
strengthened their position by working with gangs of criminals known as “bandits”,
who raid villages, kill and abduct residents, and burn homes after looting
them.

Officials said efforts were continuing to confirm the number
of people killed in Mafa.

Bulama Jalaluddeen said:

It has been established that at least 81 people were killed in the attack.

“Fifteen bodies had already been buried by their
relations by the time soldiers reached Mafa for the evacuation of the corpses.
In addition to these, some unspecified number of dead victims from nearby
villages who were caught up in the attack were taken and buried by their
kinsmen before the arrival of the soldiers. Many people are still missing and
their whereabouts unknown.”

A military official who accompanied the army’s commanding
officer for Yobe to Mafa on Monday evening said the route to the village had
been rigged with explosives, which troops managed to defuse.

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“We recovered 37 corpses and brought them to Babangida
General Hospital,” the official told the Reuters news agency. He declined
to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Modu Mohammed, who lives in Mafa, said several more
residents were missing and estimated the death toll at more than 100. He said
some corpses were still in the bush.

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