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At least 38 people were killed this week in suspected extremist attacks on loggers and a village in northeast Nigeria, anti-jihadist militia and residents told AFP on Friday.
Late on Tuesday, fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a group linked to the Islamic State group, rounded up loggers in a forest outside the town of Mafa, killing 27 and abducting 18 others, two anti-jihadist militia said.
“They slit the throats of 27 loggers and took away 18 others whose fate is still unknown,” Babakura Kolo, a militia fighter assisting the Nigerian military, said.
His account was supported by Ibrahim Liman, another militia fighter who said the loggers were from Mafa, 60 kilometers (40 miles) from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.
A triple suicide bombing last month killed 23 people in Maiduguri, in one of the deadliest attacks in the state capital in years.
Amnesty International said in a post on X that “20 internally displaced persons” were killed and 30 abducted while collecting firewood in the forest near Mafa.
ISWAP and rival jihadist organisation Boko Haram have increasingly targeted farmers, fishermen, loggers, herders, and metal scrap collectors in the region, accusing them of spying on them and passing information to the military.
On Monday, ISWAP fighters raided Kautikeri village outside the town of Chibok, killing 11 people and burning homes, a community leader said.
“The terrorists attacked the village and killed 11 people. They burned several homes and barns before retreating to their enclave in nearby Sambisa forest,” said Manasseh Allen, head of the Chibok Area Development Association (CADA), a sociocultural union in the Chibok district.
Chibok is a scar on Nigeria following the abduction by Boko Haram of 276 schoolgirls, which sparked international outrage and the global “BringBackOurGirls” campaign.
Some girls subsequently escaped, and others were freed years later. Around 100 are still missing.
There was no statement from the authorities on the latest attacks.
Militant groups have ramped up attacks on military and civilian targets in Africa’s most populous country in recent months.
Late on Tuesday, fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a group linked to the Islamic State group, rounded up loggers in a forest outside the town of Mafa, killing 27 and abducting 18 others, two anti-jihadist militia said.
“They slit the throats of 27 loggers and took away 18 others whose fate is still unknown,” Babakura Kolo, a militia fighter assisting the Nigerian military, said.
His account was supported by Ibrahim Liman, another militia fighter who said the loggers were from Mafa, 60 kilometers (40 miles) from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.
A triple suicide bombing last month killed 23 people in Maiduguri, in one of the deadliest attacks in the state capital in years.
Amnesty International said in a post on X that “20 internally displaced persons” were killed and 30 abducted while collecting firewood in the forest near Mafa.
ISWAP and rival jihadist organisation Boko Haram have increasingly targeted farmers, fishermen, loggers, herders, and metal scrap collectors in the region, accusing them of spying on them and passing information to the military.
On Monday, ISWAP fighters raided Kautikeri village outside the town of Chibok, killing 11 people and burning homes, a community leader said.
“The terrorists attacked the village and killed 11 people. They burned several homes and barns before retreating to their enclave in nearby Sambisa forest,” said Manasseh Allen, head of the Chibok Area Development Association (CADA), a sociocultural union in the Chibok district.
Chibok is a scar on Nigeria following the abduction by Boko Haram of 276 schoolgirls, which sparked international outrage and the global “BringBackOurGirls” campaign.
Some girls subsequently escaped, and others were freed years later. Around 100 are still missing.
There was no statement from the authorities on the latest attacks.
Militant groups have ramped up attacks on military and civilian targets in Africa’s most populous country in recent months.
