A group of 30 suspected Boko Haram gunmen in Borno State attacked Azir village in Damboa council area of Borno State early hour of Saturday. Four residents were murdered, while seven sustained injuries.
Borno state - Azir village is a community of farmers and herdsmen, located about 107 km South of Maiduguri, the state capital. Boko Haram attackers, armed with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and petrol bombs, also torched several houses and shops before fleeing into the Sambisa forest, East of the village.
A resident of Damboa said the Boko Haram sect issued a threat letter to the village head earlier in March, warning the people to vacate their village and promising to "execute the work of Allah [God]" on the night of undisclosed date.
"Two weeks after the threat letter, we were shocked and terrified by 30 gunmen on motorcycles who surrounded the entire village, shooting sporadically at the fleeing people, before setting most of the houses and huts ablaze. Some of the villagers had to flee into nearby farmlands for safety, while others climbed trees to hide, as the village was burning with plumes of smoke for two hours last night," the source narrated.
"I cannot tell you the exact number of people killed, but definitely four of our people were shot dead, before their children and wives, while fleeing for safety that night along with other villagers to the bush and farmlands. Also seven villagers had broken limbs and fire burns and were taken to an undisclosed hospital in Maiduguri for treatments."
He added that the villagers were left without security from either the military or police from Maiduguri, adding that before Saturday's attack, the soldiers and policemen patrolling Maiduguri-Biu road were withdrawn. This enabled the gunmen to cash in on non-protection of the village against insurgency attacks and killings of yesterday.
The Nigeria police in Borno state also confirmed the incident.
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