Boko Haram kills 43 Borno villagers

Suspected Boko Haram fighters killed at least 43 people in separate incidents in Kaga and Kukawa local government areas of Borno State over the weekend, locals and security sources said.
In the violence on Friday and Saturday, 23 people were killed in Mainok and 20 in Dawashi when the sect’s gunmen launched reprisals against the so-called Civilian JTF group, which is hunting for insurgents.
Many more people were also injured, some of them with life-threatening gunshot wounds.
The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) based in Kukawa confirmed the deaths in Dawashi, saying the incident happened when Boko Haram gunmen opened fire on vigilantes who stormed the village in search of insurgents.“According to an eyewitness who pleaded anonymity, a group of Civilian Joint Task Force from Maiduguri stormed the village Dawashi in search of Boko Haram members when the suspected sect members came armed and fired sporadic shots that killed over twenty innocent civilians while a dozen secured serious gunshot injury,” MNJTF spokesman Lt. Haruna Sani said in a statement emailed to journalists yesterday.
“The victims are mostly fishermen and traders who pursue their legitimate business in the area. As at the time of compiling this report, the (surviving) victims were still lying within the premises of MNJTF Field Ambulance receiving medical treatment from the injury sustained during the attack.
“Meanwhile, heavily armed Quick Reaction Group from MNJTF had been deployed to ensure the safety of lives and property in the area. The general area of Dawashi, Daban Masara and Malan Karanti are known to be suspected Boko Haram infested areas.”
Earlier on Friday, members of Volunteer Vigilante Youth Group also known as ‘Civilian JTF’ went to Mainok, 58 kilometers from Maiduguri, where they arrested some insurgents but were ambushed on their way back to the state capital.
One of the vigilantes died on the spot while three others died at the Umaru Shehu Hospital in Maiduguri. Many others have been admitted to receive treatment, leader of the vigilante Abubakar Malum said.
But soon after the vigilantes were ambushed, the attackers suspected to be Boko Haram fighters moved to Mainok, where they took advantage of the night to wreak havoc, locals said.
They said many people were killed because the incident happened shortly after the village market closed.
“Minutes after we held activities at the market, we began sighting some people coming out from the forests on motorcycles. When they approached us, we realised that they were gunmen and as soon as they arrived, they just started shooting indiscriminately,” said villager Malim Gana who fled to Maiduguri.
“They shot dead many people at the market, proceeded to the town and slaughtered 20 old men and then blocked the highway and set ablaze three other persons in their car heading to Maiduguri.”
Residents said the mayhem in Mainok was a reprisal by the Boko Haram members who accused the villagers of rising against them by establishing vigilante groups and liaising with youths coming from Maiduguri to track down insurgents.
“They did what they did simply because they are accusing the people of Mainok and environs of being informants of security agents,” Gana said.
Abubakar A. Bulama, who was on his way to Damaturu on Saturday morning to make telephone calls, said he witnessed the violence. “It was a sad day because the people of Mainok were mercilessly dealt with. When I noticed a crowd at the road side in Mainok, I first thought it was a car-crash. When I got closer to the car which was surrounded by onlookers, I saw three persons burnt inside,” he said.
A statement by spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) Lt Col Sagir Musa on Saturday confirmed the death of only one vigilante youth in the Mainok violence.
“This is to inform you that the youth vigilante groups were on operation in Mainok town. In the course of the operation, they were attacked by suspected members of the Boko Haram terrorists which led to the killing of one vigilante and another one sustained injuries,” Musa said.
“On hearing the news at about 11pm on Friday, 26th July, 2013, the JTF troops were drafted to the area and have been operating in Mainok and surroundings with a view to apprehending the bandits. The situation is cool and calm in the area and Borno State in general. Further details will be communicated to you at the end of the operation.”
Our correspondents report that the attacks in Mainok and Kukawa were the deadliest confrontation since the time the civilian JTF sprung up