MAIDUGURI, Nigeria: Boko Haram militants killed 32 people and kidnapped scores of others, including women and children, in a brutal attack on a village in the northeast area of Nigeria, officials and a witness said on Thursday.
In neighbouring Cameroon, the Islamic extremists launched a raid on army base in the border town of Amchide, but were repelled in a fierce gun battle with troops that left 116 insurgents dead, according to Cameroon’s defence ministry.
Separately, a Nigerian court martial late Wednesday sentenced 54 soldiers to death for mutiny after they refused to deploy for an operation against Boko Haram, blaming a lack of weapons and other equipment.
The court martial underscored the struggles Nigeria’s military has faced in containing the five-year Islamist uprising. Civilians complain that they are left defenceless by troops who are often absent when the militants attack.
The insurgents, fighting to create an Islamic state in northern Nigeria, have seized large swathes of territory in the northeast, while cross-border violence has spread in recent months, forcing more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes.
A convoy of heavily armed Boko Haram gunmen stormed Gumsuri in Borno state on Sunday, throwing petrol bombs into buildings and leaving much of the village destroyed, two local officials and a witness said.
Both officials with the municipal government, who requested anonymity, put the death toll at 32.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
