Maiduguri, Nigeria May 4 (BNA): Extremist Islamic rebels have killed at least seven people in an attack in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state, witnesses told the Associated Press (AP) on Wednesday.
Residents said the rebels attacked the village of Kautukari in the Chibok district of Borno on Tuesday evening. The attack occurred at the same time that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in the state to meet with survivors of jihadist violence.
Chibok is 115 kilometers (71 miles) from Maiduguri, the state capital, where Guterres met former militants who had been reintegrated into society and thousands of people displaced by the insurgency.
“They came in large numbers with superior firepower (and) took over the community,” said Hasan Chibok, one of the community leaders. Chibok said that forces from a nearby military base were deployed to repel the attack, but that “damage was done,” adding that “the number of casualties is up to 10.”
Yana Galang, another citizen, said at least seven people were killed in the recent violence before the Nigerian army intervened.
Nigerian police did not immediately respond to a request to confirm the attack.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country with a population of 206 million, is still battling a 10-year insurgency in the northeast by extremist Islamist Boko Haram insurgents and its offshoot, the Islamic West Africa Province. Extremists are fighting to impose Sharia and stop Western education.
According to the United Nations Development Program, more than 35,000 people have died and millions have been displaced by extremist violence.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said earlier this week that the war against extremists was “nearing its end”, citing continued military air strikes and the mass defection of thousands of fighters, some of whom analysts say have laid down their arms due to infighting within the country. jihadist group.
However, violence continues in border communities and areas near the Lake Chad region, the stronghold of the group linked to the Islamic State in West Africa.
Community leader Chibok said “things are getting worse” in Chibok’s Kaotokari village and have cut back areas near the forest, saying the presence of extremists near the forest is a contributing factor.
AOQ