Boko Haram insurgents on Sunday evening attacked a village in Borno State, killing a soldier and 51 other persons.
About 16 others, including policemen and traders, were injured while 300 houses were set ablaze by the insurgents in Kawuri, Konduga Local Government Area of the state.
Another set of the Boko Haram fighters, armed with guns and explosives, had earlier on Sunday killed 22 people at a church service in Waga Chakawa, Adamawa State.
The Kawuri village attackers were said to have planted several explosives in the community after attacking the nearby weekly market as traders were busy getting ready to close their stalls.
An eyewitness said those who sustained varying degrees of burns were rushed to the Konduga General Hospital and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for treatment.
Bulama Kuliri, a resident of the village, told journalists that the attack lasted for more than four hours.
He said, “I believe more than 50 people were killed in the attack because the whole village was razed by the Boko Haram people. There were loud explosions from different directions and dead bodies littered many parts of the village.”
Another eyewitness, Ari Kolomi, told the Associated Press that “no house in the village was left standing.”
“The gunmen were more than 50 and they were using explosives and heavy-sounding guns,” he added.
A soldier said two more improvised explosive devices exploded early on Monday morning, narrowly missing security personnel who were busy collecting corpses.
One of the police officers that evacuated the wounded victims, also confirmed that at least 52 people were killed and 16 injured.
The state Police Commissioner, Lawan Tanko, confirmed the attack but said he was awaiting details on casualties.
A protocol officer in the Government House told journalists that Governor Kashim Shettima was advised to cancel his “planned visit” to the community because “the military were still conducting an operation in the area.”
Shettima later met behind closed doors with military and police officers in the state over the incident.
In Waga Chakawa, witnesses told Reuters that insurgents set off bombs and fired into the congregation in the Catholic Church in a village in Adamawa State.
They said the insurgents also burnt houses and took residents hostage during the four-hour siege.
The spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Yola, Rev. Father Raymond Danbouye, said those killed were buried at a funeral on Monday.
In the last one week, over 100 persons have been killed in attacks by members of the terror group. These attacks, according to the United Nations, led to 6,000 persons fleeing to neighbouring countries like Cameroon and Niger Republic. On January 14 for instance, a car bomb exploded in Maiduguri, killing about 70 people. Communities like Kwaljiri, Kaya, Ngawo Fate, Limanti, Njaba, Yahuri, Mude, Wala and Alau in the Damboa, Konduga and Gwoza Local Government Areas have all been sacked by the terrorists.
Source: PUNCH
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