Twenty-seven people have been killed since Friday in four separate attacks attributed to jihadists in northeastern Nigeria, security sources and residents told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Sunday.
The Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), a dissident branch of Boko Haram which split in 2016, has increased attacks in recent weeks despite ongoing military operations in the region.
On Saturday evening, ISWAP killed 24 civilians in three villages in Borno state, an anti-jihadist militia leader and a resident told AFP, saying the civilians were targeted for helping troops deal with insurgents.
The attackers targeted the villages of Sabongarin Kimba, Mandara-Girau and Ngama, on the outskirts of the Sambisa forest, one of the main jihadist hideouts, the sources said.
“The terrorists killed 24 people in the three villages last night,” said anti-jihadist militia leader Mustapha Karimbe.
“They moved from village to village, choosing their targets and massacring them,” Mr. Karimbe added, adding that nine residents were killed in Sabongarin Kimba, seven in Mandara-Girau and eight in Ngama. According to him, the soldiers had asked for the help of the villagers to monitor a road where the jihadists usually set ambushes. The attacks were “a punishment for the help given by the locals to the soldiers”, he said.
The army and local officials were not immediately available to confirm the attacks.
Another militiaman, Umar Ari, gave the same toll, saying the insurgents had sent a warning to the villagers, threatening them with “serious consequences” if they cooperated with the army. According to a resident of the neighboring town of Biu, Ahmad Babagana, “it was clear that they knew the inhabitants they were looking for”.
Late Friday, ISWAP carried out another attack in Chibok, also in Borno State, where Boko Haram abducted more than 200 schoolgirls in 2014, sparking outrage around the world. Fighters arriving in pick-up trucks and motorbikes attacked the village of Kautikeri in Chibok district, two residents said.
“They arrived around 5:45 p.m. [16 h 45 GMT] and attacked the village with firearms, killing three people and burning down a church,” Kautikeri resident Samson Bulus told AFP. Another resident, Samson Silas, told the same story.
The army claims to have killed 180 jihadists and arrested 130 people suspected of “terrorism” in the northeast of the country since the end of January. The conflict in the northeast, which has lasted for 12 years, has left at least 40,000 dead and more than two million displaced.