Suspected members of the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency killed at least 15 people in an attack on villages in north-east Nigeria, residents told Reuters.
The villages are on the outskirts of militarised city Maiduguri, the heart of government in the north-east and headquarters of efforts to defeat Boko Haram and the related Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) insurgency. The conflict has lasted almost a decade.
Despite the Nigerian government’s statements since late 2015 that Boko Haram has been largely defeated the militancy still attacks in and around Maiduguri and throughout much of the north-east.
In Kofa, a Reuters reporter counted five bodies burned inside the remains of a house. A village chief in nearby Dalori said one person in the camp for displaced people was killed, while two residents of Bulabrin said nine people died there.
Nigeria’s military said in a statement a civilian was found dead after Boko Haram ransacked Dalori market, setting buildings ablaze and fleeing when soldiers approached.
