TEMPO.CO, Njaba – Militants allegedly linked to Boko Haram have set fire to a village in Njaba, Nigeria and killed at least 64 people. The raid happened on Tuesday.
A witness quoted by Sahara Reporters said the raid on Njaba came as many villagers were attending morning prayers.
Fatima Abaka said there was “pandemonium” when the shooting started.
"I ran into the bush. Since then I [have] never seen my husband and three children," she said. "[I] came back to our village in the afternoon, dead bodies were scattered everywhere."
Another witness, Aminatu Mommodu, said the bodies of victims, including dozens of men, were in the mosque with throats slit. “Other villagers caught by the gunmen outside the mosque had been shot,” she said.
Njaba is about 100 km south of the state capital, Maiduguri.
Ibrahim Wagu, a Maiduguri resident, said two of his family members were killed in the attack. "My older brother and my sister's first son were killed," he said.
Boko Haram has killed thousands of people in its attempt to establish an Islamic state. They have seized a large swathe of Borno state and have launched cross-border raids into Chard, Cameroon and Niger.
The three countries have joined Nigeria to form a military coalition, which has recaptured several towns and villages in recent weeks.
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