Boko Haram launches fresh attack, kills 42 in Borno

From Mustapha Isah Kwaru, Maiduguri

Suspected members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect yesterday launched fresh attack in Gurmushi village, along Nigeria-Cameroon border in Marte local government area of Borno state, killing at least 42 people.

Our correspondent reported that this is the second attack carried out by gunmen in the last seven days. Last Thursday, insurgents stormed three communities with sophisticated weapons and murdered over 30 villagers.

In the past one week, Boko Haram has intensified bloody attacks in rural areas and border communities of Borno state, killing close to 200 people.

Residents of the area told newsmen that in the latest carnage, dozens of insurgents have reportedly targeted Gurmushi, a farming community along the shores of Lake Chad, in the morning hours and unleashed terror on innocent civilians.

Residents said over 30 armed insurgents stormed the area around 10.am, shooting everyone at sight and setting houses, shops and vehicles on fire.

The militants, armed with sophisticated weapons, raided the area and started sporadic shootings into the direction of crowd, killing 42 people on the spot and burnt most houses and shops in the town.

A resident of the area who spoke to newsmen on phone, Malam Jidda Shuwa said they were taken unawares, as the town has not come under such heavy attacks for a long time.

He said: “When the assailants left, few of us who were courageous enough to return, have counted 42 corpses littered on the ground, while the village was razed down completely most of us run into the bush for our safety”.

He expressed dismay that innocent people were killed freely with out the intervention of the security forces.

During the attack, which lasted for over three hours, there was no single security personnel to confront the invaders as they had a field day wreaking havoc on us. The invaders snatched several vehicles and loaded them with bags of assorted foodstuff, before fleeing the area”, he declared.

Malam Shuwa also alleged that the attackers burnt almost all the houses, shops and vehicles, even as they carted away assorted food items. He said several other people sustained gunshot injuries. He explained that several other persons who were wounded are now being treated at local hospital in a town close to Cameroon.

According to him, funeral rites of the dead were not held as corpses of the victims were still on the streets because the area was deserted.

A community leader in the area who declined identification confirmed the incident in a phone chat with newsmen, saying over 100 houses were burnt after the attackers killed 42 people, leaving several others wounded.

He decried absence of security operatives in the area, even as they alerted relevant authorities on the need to deploy troops to safeguard the community.

“After the last week’s attack in some villages close to our own, where over people lost their lives, we had appealed to the security agents to deploy their personnel but our appeal fell on deaf ears”, he said.