Boko Haram: children among villagers burned to death in Nigeria attack
Boko Haram: children among villagers burned to death in Nigeria attack
The Guardian, 01 Feb 2016
URL: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/01/boko-haram-attack-children-among-villagers-burned-to-death-in-nigeria
More than 80 killed after fighters from the Islamist group razed the village of Dalori in northern Nigeria, shooting people and setting fire to homes.
Scores of people, including children, have been killed in a Nigerian town by Boko Haram fighters who shot at villagers and set fire to their homes in the latest deadly attack by the Islamist militant group.
The attack took place on Saturday in the village of Dalori, which lies about 12km (seven miles) from the northern city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram and the biggest city in Nigeria’s north-east.
Some 86 people died after Boko Haram fighters arrived in the village, initially shooting at locals from their cars before setting fire to huts with people inside. The militants also tried to storm a nearby refugee camp, housing 25,000 people.
Colonel Mustapha Anka, a spokesperson for the army, said the assailants arrived “in two cars and on motorcycles, they opened fire then set light to homes.” Three female suicide bombers who had initially tried to mingle with the villagers “were intercepted, then blew themselves up,” he said.
A survivor who hid in a tree during the attack said he watched Boko Haram fighters firebomb huts and heard the screams of children burning to death.
Scores of charred corpses and bodies ridden with bullet wounds littered the streets.
Villagers who survived the attack said they fled into the bush when the assailants entered Dalori.
“We were seated outside our home shortly after the Isha prayer when we heard gunshots and within a few minutes the invaders had arrived,” said Malam Masa Dalori, a community leader.
“They came in Golf saloon cars and began to shoot sporadically. Many people ran to the bush including myself. When we came back in the morning the entire community had been razed. At least 50 people were killed, and there are many people wounded.”
The shooting, burning and explosions from three suicide bombers continued for nearly four hours, survivor Alamin Bakura told the Associated Press. He said several of his family members were killed or wounded.
The violence continued as three female suicide bombers blew up among people who managed to flee to neighbouring Gamori village, killing many people, according to a soldier at the scene.
Troops arrived at Dalori around 8:40pm on Saturday but were unable to overcome the attackers, who were better armed, other soldiers said.
The Boko Haram fighters only retreated after reinforcements arrived with heavier weapons, they said.
On Sunday, survivors of the attack complained it had taken too long for help to arrive from nearby Maiduguri and said they feared another attack.
A total of 86 were collected by Sunday afternoon, according to Mohammed Kanar, area coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency. Another 62 people are being treated for burns, said Abba Musa of the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri.
The attack was swiftly condemned by the European Union, which said it was committed to supporting regional African states in the fight against such extremist groups.
Maiduguri, about 90 miles from the southern shores of Lake Chad, has a population of 2.6 million, more than half of whom are refugees. The city has been the targeted several attacks in recent months as militants have tried to retake the city from which they were pushed three years ago.
Boko Haram has been attacking soft targets, increasingly with suicide bombers, since the military last year drove them out of towns and villages in northeastern Nigeria.
The six-year Islamic uprising has killed about 20,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes.
Associated Press and Agence-France Press contributed to this report
Scores of people, including children, have been killed in a Nigerian town by Boko Haram fighters who shot at villagers and set fire to their homes in the latest deadly attack by the Islamist militant group.
The attack took place on Saturday in the village of Dalori, which lies about 12km (seven miles) from the northern city of Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram and the biggest city in Nigeria’s north-east.
Some 86 people died after Boko Haram fighters arrived in the village, initially shooting at locals from their cars before setting fire to huts with people inside. The militants also tried to storm a nearby refugee camp, housing 25,000 people.
Colonel Mustapha Anka, a spokesperson for the army, said the assailants arrived “in two cars and on motorcycles, they opened fire then set light to homes.” Three female suicide bombers who had initially tried to mingle with the villagers “were intercepted, then blew themselves up,” he said.
A survivor who hid in a tree during the attack said he watched Boko Haram fighters firebomb huts and heard the screams of children burning to death.
Scores of charred corpses and bodies ridden with bullet wounds littered the streets.
Villagers who survived the attack said they fled into the bush when the assailants entered Dalori.
“We were seated outside our home shortly after the Isha prayer when we heard gunshots and within a few minutes the invaders had arrived,” said Malam Masa Dalori, a community leader.
“They came in Golf saloon cars and began to shoot sporadically. Many people ran to the bush including myself. When we came back in the morning the entire community had been razed. At least 50 people were killed, and there are many people wounded.”
The shooting, burning and explosions from three suicide bombers continued for nearly four hours, survivor Alamin Bakura told the Associated Press. He said several of his family members were killed or wounded.
The violence continued as three female suicide bombers blew up among people who managed to flee to neighbouring Gamori village, killing many people, according to a soldier at the scene.
Troops arrived at Dalori around 8:40pm on Saturday but were unable to overcome the attackers, who were better armed, other soldiers said.
The Boko Haram fighters only retreated after reinforcements arrived with heavier weapons, they said.
On Sunday, survivors of the attack complained it had taken too long for help to arrive from nearby Maiduguri and said they feared another attack.
A total of 86 were collected by Sunday afternoon, according to Mohammed Kanar, area coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency. Another 62 people are being treated for burns, said Abba Musa of the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri.
The attack was swiftly condemned by the European Union, which said it was committed to supporting regional African states in the fight against such extremist groups.
Maiduguri, about 90 miles from the southern shores of Lake Chad, has a population of 2.6 million, more than half of whom are refugees. The city has been the targeted several attacks in recent months as militants have tried to retake the city from which they were pushed three years ago.
Boko Haram has been attacking soft targets, increasingly with suicide bombers, since the military last year drove them out of towns and villages in northeastern Nigeria.
The six-year Islamic uprising has killed about 20,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes.
Associated Press and Agence-France Press contributed to this report