At least 43 people have been killed in separate incidents by
suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Kaga and Kukawa local government
areas of Borno State over the weekend, locals and security sources say. In the bloodbath on Friday and Saturday, 23 people were killed in
Mainok and 20 in Dawashi when the Islamist sect members launched
reprisal attacks against the Volunteer Vigilance Youths Group (VVYG),
popularly called ‘Civilian JTF,’ which has helped in tracking and
hunting down insurgents since the declaration of a state of emergency. Many more were also injured in the attack, some of them with life-threatening gunshot wounds. Confirming the deaths in Dawashi, the Multinational Joint Task Force
(MNJTF) based in Kukawa disclosed that the incident occurred when Boko
Haram gunmen opened fire on vigilantes who stormed the village in search
of insurgents. “According to an eyewitness who pleaded anonymity, a group of
Civilian Joint Task Force from Maiduguri stormed the village Dawashi in
search of Boko Haram members when the suspected sect members came armed
and fired sporadic shots that killed over twenty innocent civilians
while a dozen secured serious gunshot injury,” MNJTF spokesman Lt.
Haruna Sani said in a statement emailed to journalists yesterday. “The victims are mostly fishermen and traders who pursue their
legitimate business in the area. As at the time of compiling this
report, the (surviving) victims were still lying within the premises of
MNJTF Field Ambulance receiving medical treatment from the injury
sustained during the attack. “Meanwhile, heavily armed Quick Reaction Group from MNJTF had been
deployed to ensure the safety of lives and property in the area. The
general area of Dawashi, Daban Masara and Malan Karanti are known to be
suspected Boko Haram infested areas.”
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