Jihadists kill 15 farmers, children in hunger-stalked northeast Nigeria: sources

AFP | Kano

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IS-affiliated militants killed over a dozen farmers and children in a gun attack and mine explosion in Nigeria’s northeast Borno state, the epicentre of jihadist conflict, two anti-jihadist militia members said yesterday.

Fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) opened fire on a group of farmers and children riding in an open van and a motorised rickshaw outside Gurnowa, a village near the garrison town of Monguno on Thursday, the militias said.

Separately, a woman farmer and her three children fleeing the area died when their wooden cart hit a landmine planted by the jihadists near the attack scene before they withdrew, the militia said.

“Our men have evacuated 11 bodies to Monguno while another team has left to bring the woman and her three children,” said Babakura Kolo, an anti-jihadist militia leader assisting the military in fighting the jihadists in the region.

The 11 were returning to Monguno after working on their farms when they were attacked by the jihadists, said Ibrahim Liman, another member of the militia who gave the same toll.

The insurgents made off with the van and the rickshaw of the slain farmers, the two militia said.

“The woman and her three children had abandoned their farm on hearing gunshots and were heading back to Monguno when the cart they were pushing rolled over an explosive buried by the terrorists, killing them all,” Liman said.

From the images of the 11 victims seen by a reporter, most were shot in the head, including two females and two children.

Gurnowa, five kilometres (three miles) from the military-fortified town of Monguno, has been deserted for years following jihadist attacks, with its inhabitants forced to seek shelter in makeshift camps in Monguno.