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The UN speaks of the “most brutal incident” this year in Nigeria: dozens of people were killed in an attack on the village of Koshobe in Borno state, they were busy harvesting rice fields.
According to the UN, dozens of people were killed in a “brutal” attack in northeast Nigeria. Gunmen on motorcycles attacked men and women in Koshobe and surrounding areas in Borno state who were carrying out harvest work on Saturday, said Edward Kallon, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria. Originally there were at least 110 deaths. The UN later corrected the information.
“The incident is the most brutal direct attack on innocent civilians this year,” Kallon said. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari also condemned the attack near the regional capital, Maiduguri. “The whole country has been hurt by these senseless killings,” he said.
It is not yet clear who is behind the atrocity. However, for years there have been attacks by the terrorist groups Boko Haram or the dissident group ISWAP in Borno.
Militia Leader: “Definitely” Boko Haram
According to the leader of the Babakura Kolo militia, whose militia fights against Boko Haram, the victims were attacked and handcuffed while working in the rice fields in Koshobe village. Then they cut their throats. The attack was “undoubtedly” carried out by fighters from the Boko Haram militia, “Kolo said.
The incident occurred on the day of the state’s first regional elections since 2009; at that time there had been uprisings by the Islamist group Boko Haram. Due to continued violence by Islamist militias, the elections were repeatedly postponed.
Recently, attacks on farmers increased
Boko Haram and ISWAP recently increasingly targeted farmers, carpenters, ranchers and fishermen because they allegedly worked as informants for the army. In 2016, ISWAP split from the Boko Haram militia, which had been fighting violently for an Islamist state in northeastern Nigeria since 2009.
Militia attacks and their fighting with the army have killed some 36,000 people in recent years and two million more fled.
