Farmers Flee, 36 Killed Within Two Weeks As Boko Haram Resumes Attack On Borno Farmland
LAGOS JULY 20TH (NEWSRANGERS)-In just over two weeks, Borno State has experienced four devastating attacks by Boko Haram insurgents that killed at least 36 lives in the state.
These attacks, mostly targeted at farmers in their fields, threaten a reversal of the relative peace and food security that the state gradually attained over the years.
Daily Trust reports indicate how the attacks that happened between June 14 and June 30 also left many farmers injured and scared many farmers off their fields this season.
These attacks, which are likely to be higher than reported, mostly took place in southern Borno–the agricultural hub of the state–and are threatening food security in Borno, the North East, and the country at large.
The most recent attack was on June 26 when suspected Boko Haram militants ambushed eight farmers on their way to farm and slaughtered seven farmers in Damboa Local Government Area of the state.
Locals and security sources said the incident happened around 11:30am in the Bulajimbam area of the council.
“It is sad; seven people lost their lives and you see it is difficult for us to tell these people not to go to farm. We are working hard to ensure they are protected,” a security source who preferred anonymity told Daily Trust.
In another attack, on June 14, 15 people working on their farmlands were also slaughtered and some beheaded by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Damboa and Jere local government areas.
Bukar Ali Musty, a top member of the vigilante group, said the farmers were working on their farmlands near Molai, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, when insurgents attacked and beheaded them.
“At least 15 dead bodies were evacuated after the attack this morning.
“Seven farmers were beheaded while working on their farms and the attackers also slit the throats of eight other harmless civilians in their homes,” the vigilante source said.
On June 22, eight woodmongers were also killed in a fresh Boko Haram attack in Mafa, the local government council of Borno State governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum.
This attack, which came barely a week after that of the slain farmers, happened in Bulamari village.
According to a Civilian JTF source, the insurgents killed eight out of the nine young loggers who were under the age of 20 and deliberately spared the life of one.
“They only allowed one Babakura, a 15-year-old boy, to come and break the story in the town.
“They tied their hands behind their backs and shot them in the heads. We went there together with the Civilians’ Joint Task Force to bring the corpses for burial; only one person was married among them, and all of them were young men,” he said.
On June 30, six other people, including a woman, were killed by the suspected Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) in Damboa Local Government Area of the state.
According to sources, the attackers stormed the town around 8:30pm and fired mortar bombs into Damboa town, the local government headquarters, and 21 innocent people were injured.
Sources from the security claimed that after failing to gain access into the town, the attackers hauled a mortar bomb that killed six people and injured 21 in Wulari area, near the district head’s palace.
“Yes, there was an attack by ISWAP last night in Damboa town. We lost six people including women and more than 20 people were taken to the hospital, but the situation is calm now,” a security source said.
A top member of Civilian JTF told Daily Trust that those killed included housewives and aged women.
However, the most disturbing aspect of the killings is their change of modus operandi; the insurgents now trail the farmers and slaughter them quietly in their isolated farmlands.
Also, in most of these areas attacked by the insurgents, the locals complained of minimal or no security presence at the time of the attacks.
DailyTrust
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Posted by News Rangers
on Jul 20 2023. Filed under National.
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