Fresh details are emerging of attacks by Nigeria’s militant group Boko Haram in the North Eastern region of the country.
AFP reports that hundreds of people have been found dead in the town of Damasak, believed to be victims of the groups insurgency.
There are reports of decomposing bodies littering the streets of Damasak came as president Muhammadu Buhari denounced the Islamists as a bogus religious group and vowed a hard line against them when he comes to power at the end of next month.
Northeast Nigeria has been relentlessly targeted throughout the jihadists’ six-year uprising but there had been a lull in violence in recent weeks.
A coalition of troops from Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria has claimed major victories against Boko Haram since February, reportedly flushing the militants out of areas they previously controlled.
The discovery of hundreds of bodies, including women and children, and the latest attacks underlined both the brutality of the conflict and the continuing threat posed by the extremists.
The discovery of hundreds of bodies, including women and children, and the latest attacks underlined both the brutality of the conflict and the continuing threat posed by the extremists.
According to a report by AFP the grim find in Damasak “far outnumbered” that of about 100 bodies found in a mass grave under a bridge after the town was liberated in early March by Chadian forces, said local resident Kaumi Kusur.
“Dead bodies were found in houses, streets and many more in the Damasak River which has dried up,” he said, adding the victims were buried in 20 mass graves at the weekend.
Mohammed Sadiq, another local who helped in the burials on Saturday, put the death toll at more than 400 but the Borno state government did not state a precise figure, giving a toll of “hundreds”.
The victims had been covered by sand from the encroaching desert, with the burial ordered by the state authorities, which are looking at the return of thousands of people displaced by the violence.
