Nigeria: Boko Haram members kill 17 farmers

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According to two officials of paramilitary organizations, the jihadists attacked herders tending their animals in a pasture near the village of Ayramne, in Mafa district.

Jihadists of the Boko Haram organization killed 17 livestock farmers and stole their animals in Borno state, in northeastern Nigeria, on Saturday, two officials of paramilitary organizations formed by the state authorities told AFP on Monday.

Fighting broke out when jihadists attacked herders tending their livestock in a pasture near the village of Ayramne in Mafa district, the sources said.

“Seventeen herders were killed in the fighting and all their animals were stolen by Boko Haram insurgents who carried out the attack,” said Babakura Kolo, head of a paramilitary group.

“The herdsmen tried to put up resistance, but they were outnumbered and the attackers were also outgunned,” added Mr. Kolo.

The jihadists launched the attack by rushing from their camp in the nearby Gatzigana forest.

Several members of Boko Haram have taken refuge in this area after many of them were driven out of their stronghold, the Sambisa forest, either by the rival group Islamic State in West Africa (ISW) or due to operations by the Nigerian army, another official said. paramilitary organization, Ibrahim Liman, who gave the same account.

IKDA was born when Boko Haram split in 2016. The group, which pledges allegiance to IS, became dominant in northeastern Nigeria after the death in May 2021 of rival Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau in a battle with members of its rival Boko Haram.

Boko Haram and IKDA are increasingly targeting civilians, particularly loggers, farmers and herders, whom they accuse of spying for the military or paramilitary groups.

Ranchers who agree to drive their herds to graze in jihadist-controlled territory after paying a tax, however, are generally spared such attacks.

The armed conflict that erupted 13 years ago in northeastern Nigeria between the authorities and jihadists has killed at least 40,000 people and uprooted 3 million others, according to the UN.

Faced with widespread insecurity — in part due to a jihadist insurgency in the country’s northeast — Nigerians are expected on February 25 to elect a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is ineligible to run for re-election after two terms, by virtue of of the Constitution.

RES-EMP

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