Nigeria: At least 30 killed, women, children abducted in Borno State

Jihadists killed at least 30 civilians in the northeastern Nigeria restive Borno state, a regional government spokesman said Monday.

On Sunday, insurgents attacked and burned vehicles near Maiduguri. Several women and children were also abducted.

The attackers also looted a nearby village before setting it on fire, according to a local government statement.

‘‘We were sitting in the front seat of the car and we heard them shouting Allahu Akbar, which means “God is great,” and the shots rang out. First they killed a woman in the front seat of the car and then we ran away”, an eyewitness Hussaini Ali recounts.

For Tijjani Abubakar “The bodies of some of those who lost their lives in the attack were completely burned, while others were killed by the heat of the car that was set on fire.”

This attack has not yet been claimed as at the time of filing this report. The region has recently come under the control of a branch of the Boko Haram jihadist group affiliated to the Islamic State Organization, which has been stepping up kidnappings and attacks for several weeks.

The United Nations has expressed deep concern over an upsurge in violent attacks in recent weeks across the conflict-zone.

AFP