At least 30 people were killed in Boko Haram raids on two villages
in
northeast Nigerian Borno state near the town of Chibok, a community
leader and resident told AFP on Friday.
The attacks on Thursday
targeted the villages of Thlaimakalama and Gatamarwa, which were torched
by the rampaging militants, said Pogo Bitrus, head of the Chibok Elders
Forum.
“From information coming in from residents of the two villages at least 30 people were killed in the attacks,” he added.
Luka
Haruna, who lives in Chibok, some 15 kilometres (nine miles) away, gave
an identical death toll and added: “The two villages were completely
destroyed.”
Chibok gained notoriety last April when Boko Haram
fighters kidnapped 276 schoolgirls, causing global outrage and a social
media campaign to release them.
Fifty-seven managed to escape but 10 months on, 219 are still being held.
Bitrus said the latest attacks happened about noon (1100 GMT) on Thursday.
The
insurgents were passing through the two neighbouring villages as they
fled the nearby town of Askira Uba, which they invaded on Monday
evening, he added.
Hundreds of Boko Haram fighters stormed Askira
Uba, burning homes and public buildings, despite a regional campaign to
crush their six-year insurgency.
Residents who fled the town said
they appealed to troops based in Chibok some 25 kilometres away but they
allegedly refused to deploy.
The militants fled when soldiers
were eventually sent. Some left towards Gwoza, on the border with
Cameroon, and the Sambisa Forest, where Boko Haram has camps.
Boko
Haram seized Gwoza in June last year and later declared it a part of
their Islamic caliphate. The town is considered to be the group’s
headquarters.
Nigeria’s military said on Thursday that fighter
jets had bombarded Sambisa Forest after Chad, which is involved in the
regional fight-back, attacked the nearby town of Dikwa.
Bitrus
said: “The insurgents mowed everything in sight as they fled Askira Uba
and these two villages which they passed through became targets.
“They opened fire on residents and set houses on fire as they drove in a huge convoy.”
Source:PM News
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