SAN FRANCISCO, August 23, (THEWILL) – Another reprisal attack by Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State, who were avenging the joint clampdown of the youth vigilante group and the Joint Task Force (JTF) on members of the sect, has claimed the lives of 44 persons with several others injured.
The insurgents who have accused the villagers of collaboration in the clampdown have killed over 100 persons in reprisal attacks on Baga, Konduga and Gwoza in recent weeks.
On Tuesday night, 44 persons were said to have been killed in Dumba village on the outskirts of Baga town, in Kukawa Local Government Area of the state.
Numbering about 50, the gunmen were said to have stormed the village and massacred 44 persons wile several others were also said to have been injured in the confusion.
The gunmen were also said to have set fire on some of the houses in the village.
Rescue workers were however said to have been mobilised to the village to provide medical services and relief to the surviving victims.
According to sources in Maiduguri, the insurgents gorged out both eyes of some of their victims and decapitated the body of some others who were lucky to have survived the attack.
A rescue worker told journalists in Maiduguri that the village came under attack late on Tuesday when some unknown gunmen stormed the settlement and killed many people when they were fast asleep.
‘’As I am speaking to you now, Red Cross officials and the Doctors without Borders are attending to the injured victims,’’ the rescue workers who craved anonymity said.
He said the village has been deserted and the residents are now taking refuge at the Baga central primary school.
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) sources also confirmed the attack, saying the agency has mobilised its men to the area to assess the situation and set up a camp for the displaced victims at the Baga central primary school .
However, JTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, could not be reached for confirmation of the incident at the time of filing this report .
Meanwhile, two Boko Haram suspects who disguised as female in order to escape the wrath of the Civilian JTF were arrested on Friday in Jimtilo, a ward in Maiduguri metropolis .
The suspects, who were said to be on their way to execute another deadly attack, were subsequently killed in a mob attack as they tried to escape. Their remains were later dumped in the Hausari ward .
