Six farmers have been left dead after some Boko Haram members on motorbikes attacked them at a village in Maiduguri.
Boko Haram jihadists on motorbikes attacked a community in Maiduguri (File photo)
Boko Haram jihadists have killed six farmers who were working on their land near the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri, civilian militia members and locals told AFP on Monday.
According to AFP, the gunmen on motorcycles attacked the group who were preparing their fields for the rainy season outside Amrawa village, 16 kilometres (10 miles) from the Borno state capital, on Saturday.
“The gunmen attacked the farmers with machetes as they were clearing their farms that have been taken over by weeds in preparation for the rains which start in a few days,” said Ibrahim Liman, a civilian militia member.
“They seized six farmers and slaughtered them while the rest fled.”
Liman's account was corroborated by by Masida Bunu and Rahis Musa, who live in the village. Some residents raised the alarm and the militia pursued the attackers to the nearby village of Sojori.
“The vigilantes fought the terrorists and killed four while the rest fled,” said Liman.
At least 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million made homeless in northeast Nigeria since the start of Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency in 2009.
Saturday’s attack again underlines the vulnerability of rural communities at a time when the authorities have been encouraging the displaced to return and rebuild their lives.