A number of villages in north-eastern Nigeria have been attacked by suspected Boko Haram militants, it has been reported.<\/p>\n
An account from Reuters news agency said suspected Islamists killed at least 10 people in one attack.<\/p>\n
Some residents said churches were attacked with bombs and guns.<\/p>\n
The incidents are said to have taken place near Chibok, the Borno state town where more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted in April.<\/p>\n
There has been no official word so far.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of villagers have been killed in similar attacks by Boko Haram in recent months.<\/p>\n
A state of emergency is in force in northern Nigeria because of the group’s increasingly violent campaign to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.<\/p>\n
Eight days ago, attacks in the Chibok area were feared to have left dozens of villagers dead.<\/p>\n
In one incident on Sunday, the militants apparently opened fire during an early morning church service in a village called Kwadakau, killing several people.<\/p>\n
Local people appealed for help.<\/p>\n
A text message from a resident in the region reported an attack on another village, called Kautikari.<\/p>\n
Quoted by the Premium Times paper, it said: “Massive attack on Kautikari now. All security agencies should be notified, and call for divine help now.”<\/p>\n
A man who survived the Kautikari attack said some 20 men arrived in a pick-up truck and motorbikes, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n
“Initially I thought they were military but when I came out, they were firing at people. I saw people fleeing and they burned our houses,” Samuel Chibok was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
“Smoke was billowing from our town as I left.”<\/p>\n
The BBC’s Will Ross, in the commercial capital Lagos, says a Nigerian air force plane has been seen flying over the area.<\/p>\n
However residents of these extremely vulnerable villages often complain that there are not nearly enough soldiers deployed in the area and they have been calling on the government to arm the vigilante force, our correspondent adds.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A number of villages in north-eastern Nigeria have been attacked by suspected Boko Haram militants, it has been reported. An account from Reuters news agency said suspected Islamists killed at least 10 people in one attack. Some residents said churches were attacked with bombs and guns. The incidents are said to have taken place near […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":28294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[14],"yoast_head":"\n