Jihadists have killed two people and abducted 20 children in the state of Borno state, which is at the heart of the Islamist insurgency in Nigeria, said a community leader and local resident.
Fighters from the jihadist organization Islamic State of West Africa (ISWAP) stormed the village of Piyemi on Thursday, killing two men and abducting 20 children, including 13 girls, sources said.
The bomber struck near Chibok, the city that is remembered for kidnapping more than 270 young girls aged 12 to 17 in 2014 by Boko Haram jihadists, a terrorist act that sparked a wave of international outrage and a campaign. titled #BringBackOurGirls for their release. Nearly half of the abducted girls are still missing, many of whom were forcibly married to jihadist fighters.
Iswap jihadists, dressed in uniforms similar to those of the Nigerian army, stormed the village on Thursday night, opening fire, looting shops and burning houses in their path, according to residents.
“Two people were shot and 13 girls and 7 boys, aged 12 to 15, were abducted,” Samson Bullous, a resident, told AFP by telephone.
The perpetrators, who came from the forest near Sabisa, “loaded the 20 children in a truck and drove them to the forest,” said another resident, Silas John.
A community leader from the Chibok region, Agiba Alamson, confirmed the information.
“This is the third attack launched in recent days, which further highlights the threats posed by the villagers around Chibok,” in northeastern Nigeria, he said.
The residents of Pygmy who left their village when the jihadists arrived returned there today, after spending the night in the countryside.
A church was set on fire by jihadists, according to another resident, who asked not to be named.
A local official confirmed the attack, but could not say how many people had been abducted.
Iswap was formed in 2016 by a split from Boko Haram. It has become the dominant jihadist organization in northeastern Nigeria, escalating attacks against the Nigerian army.
It has consolidated control of the area following the death of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Sekau in May in clashes between the two rival teams.
Since the start of the Islamist insurgency in northeastern Nigeria in 2009, the conflict has claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people and forced nearly two million people to flee their homes.
Mass kidnappings for ransom in the north and central part of the country are now making headlines almost every week in Africa’s most populous country, whether committed by Islamists or criminals.
Nearly 1,500 students were abducted in 2021 during 20 mass kidnappings in northwestern Nigeria that claimed the lives of 16 children and adolescents, according to Unicef.
Most of them were released after negotiations and the alleged ransom payment.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
.
