Boko Haram Kills 43, Slits Throats in Borno

Suspected members of the Boko Haram sect have continued their bloodlust, killing at least 43 persons across four villages in Borno State. The gunmen slit the throats of many and fired at fleeing crowds.

The attacks took place during at the weekend in Monguno, an area that has suffered deadly violence in the past, according to Police chief, Aderemi Opadokun.

Opadokun said militant group Boko Haram was suspected to be behind the attack.

Local officials put the toll at 43, but said the number could rise as scores of others were injured.

Bukar Abdullahi, a local chief, said the killings “happened for several hours”.

The atrocities near Monguno took the death toll since President Muhammau Buhari took office on May 29 to more than 625, according to the Agence France Presse (AFP).


Buhari on Monday further signalled his intent to crush the six-year Islamist uprising by sacking the entire military high command that oversaw the Islamists’ rise in strength last year.


The latest raids happened late last Friday but details have only just emerged because of poor to non-existent phone networks in the remote area.


On Monday, a suicide bomber blew himself up in Maiduguri, a day after the first suicide attack in northern Cameroon that killed at least 11.


In another sign of the rebels’ threat to regional security, a suicide bomber disguised as a woman in a full-face veil blew himself up in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, on Saturday, killing 15.


Sheriff Kulo, from Kilwa, said militant fighters stormed his village late on Friday night, killing residents before stealing food and cattle then burning down homes.


“In Kilwa alone, they killed seven people, including the village head and left one seriously injured with a fracture on his leg,” he added.


“They then proceeded to Gwollam, Misala and Magaram, where they did the same thing. In all they killed 43,” he told AFP from Maiduguri, where he fled to raise the alarm.


“They opened fire on residents and in some cases they used knives to slaughter their victims.”


The United States on Monday roundly condemned Boko Haram’s “horrific and indiscriminate” attack targeting civilians in Chad, as well as recent assaults elsewhere in Africa by the radical militants.


“The United States strongly condemns the horrific and indiscriminate Boko Haram suicide attack on the Grand Marche in the Chadian capital… as well as attacks in Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria over the past two days,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said.


“Boko Haram’s targeting of men, women and children highlights that the group’s brutality and barbarism know no bounds, and we remain committed to working closely with the region to root out the threat posed by the group.”


The statement added that US officials, already providing security and counterterrorism assistance programs, would step up its support to countries trying to combat the group.


“We look forward to expanding this support both bilaterally with the individual countries and to the Multinational Joint Task Force, which the Lake Chad Basin countries and Benin are in the process of standing up to coordinate their counter-Boko Haram campaign,” Kirby said.