Scores killed in Boko Haram attack on Dalori Village, Borno
Update:
At least 35 people were killed when gunmen believed to be members of the Boko Haram attacked Dalori Village, hospital sources have told PREMIUM TIMES.
Officials at the Maiduguri Specialists Hospital, who did not want their names published as they are not authorised to speak to the media, said about 35 corpses were deposited at the morgue between yesterday night and this morning after the attack.
Over 100 injured persons were also admitted at the hospital for various injuries.
Some other corpses were reportedly taken to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital.
Witnesses of the attack on Dalori, 5km from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, said corpses of burnt children and aged persons as well as those killed from gunshots still littered the village after a four hours attack by the gunmen.
PREMIUM TIMES reported the attack which started at about 7 p.m. local time on Saturday.
The gunmen, according to survivors, invaded the village using dozens of motorbikes, a truck and light armoured tank (called Igwa in local parlance). They also set the whole village of about 1000 houses ablaze during the attack.
Bakura Alamin, a survivor who spoke formally to journalists, said the Boko Haram gunmen disguised as soldiers.
“When we were fleeing they (uniformed Boko Haram) called on us to advance towards their side,” Mr. Alamin said. “Many of us thought they were soldiers, but they ended up opening fire on us.”
“Many people died but few of us were lucky to escape some with bullet wounds”, said Mr. Alamin who spoke in Kanuri.
“No single building is left untouched here in Dalori”, an operative of Civilian-JTF, who declined to be named in this report, said in a telephone interview.
“We have been warned by security officials not to hastily give details of attacks to the press, but I can tell you that the casualty figure which I have seen so far is nearly 100. Yet many corpses are still being pulled out of burnt homes; and many are still being found in the bushes. It was the worst of its kind since after that of April 2013 that happened in Baga,” said the source.
The spokesperson of the Operation Lafiya Dole Theatre Command, Colonel Mustapha Anka, informed journalists that the Theatre Commander had visited the attacked village to assess the situation. He said the Command would issue a statement later “after all the information are compiled.”
Dalori is a few kilometres from one of the major IDP camps along the Maiduguri-Bama road and a stone throw from the University of Maiduguri.
The attack comes despite the statements by the military and the federal government that the insurgents had largely been defeated.
The Boko Haram insurgency in Northern Nigeria has led to the death of over 20,000 people since it began in 2009.
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