The
death toll from an attack in Borno that saw insurgents dressed as
soldiers set up checkpoints and gun down travellers on a highway has
risen to at least 142, an official said Sunday.
“We recovered 55
bodies on Wednesday and 87 on Thursday,” Abdulaziz Kolomi, an official
with the environmental protection agency in Borno State where the attack
occurred, told AFP. The previous toll from the attack in the Benisheik
area was 87.
The insurgents suspected to be from Islamist
extremist group Boko Haram also burned scores of homes and buildings in
the assault and left corpses littering the roadside.
The
motivation behind the assault was not immediately clear, but Boko Haram
members have repeatedly carried out revenge attacks against residents
over the emergence of vigilante groups that have formed to assist the
military.
Residents said the attackers singled out people from Borno, while letting people from other regions pass through checkpoints.
Benisheik was also the scene of deadly clashes on September 8 between suspected Boko Haram gunmen and vigilantes.
Northeastern
Nigeria has seen an outburst of violence in recent days, leaving scores
of people dead and casting doubt over the effectiveness of a military
assault seeking to end Boko Haram’s four-year insurgency.
AFP
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