Boko Haram militants have slit the throats of 12 people in northeast
Nigeria as the army was trying to evacuate civilians from the area, a
military source and a witness said on Friday.
The Islamist group has been driven out of much of the huge swathe of
territory they controlled at the start of the year, thanks to a
concerted push by troops from Nigeria and neighbours Chad, Niger and
Cameroon.
The town of Gwoza, in mountainous terrain, was one of the last places
to fall, on March 27and there remain pockets of Boko Haram activity in
the area, security sources say.
"Just as troops were trying to evacuate some civilians from the hills
so as to safeguard them from a planned air strike some Boko Haram
attacked them and slit the throats of 12 people," a military source
said.
A witness, Jonas Musa, told Reuters his parents were both among the
victims. He said soldiers had moved one wave of people from the hills
around Gwoza, but before they could go back for the second, the
attackers struck.
Failure to crush Boko Haram or protect civilians was one reason
President Goodluck Jonathan lost an election on 28 March Muhammadu
Buhari.
Boko Haram, fighting to establish an Islamic state, has killed
thousands and kidnapped hundreds during its six-year-old insurgency in
Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer.
Buhari has pledged to spare no effort in crushing the militants after
he is sworn in on 29 May.
He said on Tuesday he would do everything he can to rescue more than
200 girls abducted by the group a year ago from a school in the
village of Chibok, but that he could not promise to find them.
Nigeria as the army was trying to evacuate civilians from the area, a
military source and a witness said on Friday.
The Islamist group has been driven out of much of the huge swathe of
territory they controlled at the start of the year, thanks to a
concerted push by troops from Nigeria and neighbours Chad, Niger and
Cameroon.
The town of Gwoza, in mountainous terrain, was one of the last places
to fall, on March 27and there remain pockets of Boko Haram activity in
the area, security sources say.
"Just as troops were trying to evacuate some civilians from the hills
so as to safeguard them from a planned air strike some Boko Haram
attacked them and slit the throats of 12 people," a military source
said.
A witness, Jonas Musa, told Reuters his parents were both among the
victims. He said soldiers had moved one wave of people from the hills
around Gwoza, but before they could go back for the second, the
attackers struck.
Failure to crush Boko Haram or protect civilians was one reason
President Goodluck Jonathan lost an election on 28 March Muhammadu
Buhari.
Boko Haram, fighting to establish an Islamic state, has killed
thousands and kidnapped hundreds during its six-year-old insurgency in
Africa's biggest economy and top oil producer.
Buhari has pledged to spare no effort in crushing the militants after
he is sworn in on 29 May.
He said on Tuesday he would do everything he can to rescue more than
200 girls abducted by the group a year ago from a school in the
village of Chibok, but that he could not promise to find them.
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