Boko Haram jihadists razed three villages in northeast Nigeria in attacks that killed two people and injured several others, civilian militia and residents told AFP Sunday. The jihadists arrived in trucks to attack the neighbouring villages of Dala-Melari, Fuguri and Femari villages, six kilometres (3.8 miles) outside Borno state capital Maiduguri.
"The terrorists fired indicriminately and forced residents to flee," said militia leader Ibrahim Liman. Liman blamed fighters loyal to Boko Haram factional leader Abubakar Shekau for the attacks. "Two people were killed and several injured."
"They completely burnt the villages after looting food supplies," Liman said. A resident, Modu Malari, said the jihadists invaded the villages around 10:00 pm (2100GMT) and "spared nothing". "They stole all our food and burnt all our homes. They killed two of our men," Malari said.
The attacks came hours after the jihadists hacked to death a dozen farmers working on their fields in Kalla village, five kilometres away. Liman blamed the same jihadists who killed the farmers for the village raids.
In recent days Boko Haram militants have increasingly attacked ciivilian targets in the region On Thursday, they looted and burnt a village in northeast Borno state after fighting off soldiers protecting it, a local official told AFP The jihadists believed to be loyal to Shekau invaded Kalli village outside the town of Damboa, 89 killometres from Maiduguri. "The terrorists attacked the village and forced residents and troops to flee after a fight," a local official of Damboa local government said.