18th February, 2014
Suspected Islamist militants killed more than 100 Christian villagers in northeastern Nigeria in the bloodiest single attack in months, officials confirmed Sunday..
Fighters, believed to be linked to the Boko Haram group, began raiding the village of Izghe in Borno state late Saturday night, 15th February, according to local witnesses and a Nigerian senator.
"A hundred and six people, including an old woman, have been killed by the attackers, suspected to be Boko Haram gunmen," Senator Ali Ndume said in published remarks.
"Sixty of the dead have been buried while the rest are awaiting burial," French news agency AFP quoted him as saying. He said the attacks in the region were becoming "deadlier and more frequent by the day."
Hundreds of residents were seen fleeing the area as attackers looted local businesses and set fire to homes before leaving in stolen vehicles.
"They killed many, many people in the attack late Saturday," said the local government chairman, Maina Ularamu.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but authorities suspect the Islamist militant group Boko Haram was behind the attack.
Last week, the group reportedly killed 39 villagers in a similar attack on another town in Borno state.
Efforts by the Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, and his military forces to stamp out the group have not stopped the violence, Christians and other observers said.
Boko Haram has been fighting to establish an own state and impose Islamist Sharia law in what is Africa’s largest oil producer, with 150 million people split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.
The Islamists had demanded that Christians leave northern regions, which is difficult for the mainly impoverished population.