Skip to main content

NIGERIA : death toll in Boko Haram attack on loggers rises to 25

The number of loggers killed in a Boko Haram attack in north-east Nigeria has risen to 25 following the discovery of more victims, survivors and militias said on Sunday.
Motorcycle-riding gunmen attacked a logging site where people were loading firewood into vehicles 20km from the state capital Maiduguri on Saturday.
Four bodies were initially recovered, but search teams later found more victims in the surrounding area.
“We found 21 more bodies after search teams combed the bushes when many people didn’t make it back to the village after we were attacked,” logger Bunu Gana, who survived the attack, said.

“Fifty-three of us set out to the logging site from Bakin Muna but only 28 made it back after the attack. We found four bodies at the site which made us to search for those missing,” said another logger, Haruna Dahiru.
Boko Haram’s eight-year campaign of Islamist violence has killed over 20,000 people and displaced 2.6 million from their homes, sparking a dire humanitarian crisis in the region.
Most of the displaced rely on food handouts from aid agencies while others have turned to felling trees in this arid region for firewood, which they sell to buy food.
The loggers were displaced by Boko Haram from nearby Mujtari, Zangale, Anzamala and Kumbulla, who turned to logging to feed their families, militia leader Ibrahim Liman said.
He said the victims had been logging at the site for seven months without incident as they were always escorted by troops to protect them from jihadists.
“Yesterday they went to the logging without security escort and it was evident some informants alerted Boko Haram,” he said.
The attackers were believed to have come from Boko Haram’s main enclave in Sambisa forest which is accessible from the logging site, he said.
The jihadists have increasingly targeted loggers in their armed campaign, accusing them of spying and passing information to the military and the local militia fighting them.
In August Boko Haram fighters decapitated three loggers near Aisa-Wulomari, 40km from Maiduguri.
In April eight loggers were killed and their bodies burnt by the insurgents at Kayamla, 10km from Maiduguri, while collecting firewood in a bush.

Source : The Guardian 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

90-year-old tourist killed after being attacked by crocodiles while on inflatable boat in Zimbabwe

The attack took place in crocodile hatching season (file photo) Getty images Crocodile attacks tend to spike around this time of year as hatchlings emerge and females leave their nests, which they have guarded without eating for three months. Parks and Wildlife Management Authority spokesperson Tinashe Farawo said: “The crocodiles attacked the air-pumped boat they were using until it punctured. Their colleagues noticed that they were struggling and drove to seek help “When the park rangers arrived at the dam, Bowman and Mitchell were still under attack from the crocodiles  “The rangers had to shoot at the crocodiles to disperse them and rescue the two and take them to hospital where Bowman died before arrival. Mitchell has life-threatening injuries and remains in intensive care unit in Bulawayo.” Crocodiles typically grab their prey by a limb and spin them in a “death roll” which subdues the victim by drowning. Source: Independent 
Post a Comment
Read more

Ex-VP Mujuru 'was hit on the cheek with a stone by Zanu-PF activist': Spokesperson

Harare - A Zimbabwean opposition leader and her entourage were Thursday attacked with stones by suspected ruling party activists in Harare, her party said. Joice Mujuru, a former vice president of the country who is now leader of the National People's Party (NPP), and her supporters were pelted while on the campaign trail. Zimbabwe is due to hold general elections before July - the first polls since independence hero Robert Mugabe was ousted after 37 years in power. Mujuru is one of the prominent contenders. Mujuru was hit on the cheek with a stone and later addressed a rally in the working class suburb of Glen Norah after she received medical treatment, her spokesperson said. Mujuru "was going to address a rally ...she passed through a shopping centre and when people realised it was her, they came out of the shops to cheer her", Jeffryson Chitando told AFP. "She got out of her car and greeted the people, and that is when Zanu-PF (activists) started thro...
Post a Comment
Read more

The great fish robbery that costs Africa billions

(CNN) The ocean once offered a comfortable life for the fishing community of Joal, in the Senegalese capital Dakar. "Ten years ago a fisherman could support a big family," says Ahmed Diame, a Greenpeace ocean campaigner based in the region. "Now they cannot eat." Depleted fish stocks force the fishermen to travel further out to sea in search of a worthwhile catch, says Diame, which can be dangerous. Others quit and leave Joal to find work abroad, often via migration routes that are even more dangerous. In a community that relies on fish, the wider economy suffers. The jobs of processing and preparing fish are also disappearing, along with those of the boat builders. The drought is also taking its toll on the population's health. "People rely on fish for protein," says Diame. "A lot of the boys are very weak with malnutrition." The crisis in Joal is indicative of a wider problem. West Africa has become a global hub of ill...
Post a Comment
Read more