[ad_1]
TOTAL: On Sunday, several victims were buried in Nigeria. Photo: AUDU MARTE / AFP
The death toll continues to rise after an attack in northeast Nigeria, a UN source said.
“At least 110 civilians were killed and many others injured in the attack,” UN humanitarian coordinator Edward Kallon said on Sunday.
The attack took place on Saturday in a rice field in Borno state, the same day that local elections were held.
The attackers allegedly tied up the victims and slaughtered at least 30 men, according to Reuters.
The death toll was previously said to be around 40, but it was feared that it could rise. On Sunday, the governor of the region, Babaganan Umara Zulum, said that at least 70 people had died. He attended the funeral of several of the victims on Sunday.
Rice farmers were reportedly gathered as a group while harvesting rice and were killed in Koshobe village near Maiduguri city. A group of militiamen fighting the jihadists say they tied them up and cut their throats.
The background to the attack was that the locals had captured an armed Boko Haram member who had come to extort money from them and demanded that they cook for him.
The man was turned over to the authorities, but they did nothing to protect the local population, says a local politician.
DOUBLE MASS: The death toll after the attack continues to rise. Photo: REUTERS / Ahmed Kingimi
The state governor, Babagana Zulum, is said to have asked the federal government to recruit more soldiers to protect farmers in the area.
– On the one hand, they stay at home where they can starve, on the other hand, they go out to their fields and risk being killed by the militias, he said according to the news agency.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is among those mourning the dead.
– I condemn the murders by terrorists of working farmers in the state of Borno. The whole country is damaged by these senseless murders. My thoughts are with the families at this difficult time, he says in a statement.
