MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, (PNA/Xinhua) — At least 27 people have been killed by Boko Haram insurgents in two separate attacks on villagers in Nigeria northeast border town of Borno State, a local official told Xinhua on Sunday.
The insurgents attacked Fulatari and Kanumburi wards of Gamboru town at Ngala Local Government, about 130 km from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital on Wednesday and Thursday nights, chairman of Gamboru/Ngala Local Government, Modu Gana Sheriff said in Maiduguri, the state capital.
The local government boss said he had visited the families of the deceased and victims who are mostly local traders and youth volunteers to sympathize with them.
He described the incident as heinous crime against humanity, calling on Nigerians to condemn the attack on defenseless villagers.
Sheriff disclosed that six people were killed while four people were wounded in Fulatari attack. He added 21 people including the village head of Gamboru Lawan Ali Shettima were killed at Kunumburi ward. Two others sustained injuries from bullets, he said.
He also appealed to the youth vigilante members not to be deterred by the killing of their colleagues. He urged families of the deceased and victims to take solace in God and pray to have the fortitude to bear the loss.
He donated money and food items to the affected families and the youth volunteer group.
A military source said the attackers stormed the community and opened fire on the youth volunteers while the second attack on Thursday was well-coordinated.
The source said the attackers invaded the community, Kanumburi at about 10 p.m. local time.
Activities of the Boko Haram sect have recently been on the increase in Borno, a state in the northeastern region of Nigeria, which shares a border with Cameroon, Niger and Chad.
In April, the Nigerian government tried to broker a ceasefire with the sect but failed.
The Boko Haram sect seeks to enshrine the Islamic sharia law into the constitution and declares war against the Western education.