Residents of two villages in Borno State have been thrown into mourning as they buried 26 of their relations killed in an exchange of gunfire against the notorious Boko Haram militants in an attack over the weekend.
"We are in a mourning mood. We have lost our fathers, uncles, brothers, and sons. It is a big tragedy for us, and I can described the situation," said a local councilor representing Koronginim. It is one of the two communities attacked by suspected Boko Haram members in the Chibok Local Government area in a series of weekend attacks.
A local vigilante who took part in resisting the Islamist group said “at least 17 Boko Haram militants had been killed” by local vigilantes in the last two weeks resisting advances by the group in Chibok axis.
Suspected Boko Haram members seen in military camouflage uniforms, without insignia, had invaded Koronginim, and Ntsiha early Saturday. Residents said the armed men rode into the communities on motorcycles, and in Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) painted in Nigerian army colors, and had opened fire on the fleeing villagers.
It is a tactic that has been frequently repeated in attacks over the last four weeks.
"People got information that the insurgents were near Koronginim village. (This was) at about 7 am on Saturday. The (People) immediately ran out of their houses, and fled to the nearby bushes, but unknown to them, the insurgents were already on ground, pursing them with motorcycles," a resident of Koronginim told a SaharaReporters correspondent.
Another source, a local vigilante named, Dauda Must, told our reporter that the insurgents were firing at the villagers indiscriminately, killing at least 26, and left many residents injured.
He added that the casualty figure includes 20 villagers, 6 vigilante, and over 20 people injured after the firefight. Many are currently receiving treatment in the Chibok Hospital.
An official from the Chibok Local Government council who later visited the scene of the attacks, said he saw five corpses of the attackers on Sunday. This was during his assessment tour of the area, but he added that "more corpses may be in the nearby bushes."
Sahara Reporters
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