At least 25 people were killed in two separate jihadist attacks in northeastern Nigeria’s Adamawa state, local sources told AFP on Thursday.
The attacks in the towns of Madagali and Hong in the border region with Cameroon, were attributed to Boko Haram jihadists, whose fighters have been active in the area since the group began its violent insurgency in 2009.
“Gunmen we believed to be Boko Haram on many motorcycles… attacked the market. They opened fire on people and killed 21,” a Madagali local government official told AFP about the Tuesday evening attack, on the condition of anonymity.
“We are still searching for more bodies as some might have died in the bush from gunshot wounds while trying to find safety.”
The attackers also looted a market and stole food items and motorcycles, the source said.
Four others, including three troops, were killed in neighbouring Hong, resident Ezekiel Musa told AFP.
“Boko Haram attacked us after they left the town. We saw the corpses of three soldiers and one woman was killed,” Musa said.
“Now the town has security personnel but some of us have already started leaving the town because of fear of what happened.”
– ‘Senseless attacks’ –
State governor Adamu Umaru Fintiri condemned the attack without providing an official toll in a statement.
“We will not let terrorists undermine our efforts to restore peace and stability,” he said in the statement.
“I warn perpetrators: desist from these senseless attacks or face the full weight of our collective resolve.”
Since 2009, the jihadist insurgency in Nigeria, led primarily by Boko Haram and its rival faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has left more than 40,000 dead and two million displaced in the northeast of the country, according to the United Nations.
Nigeria is also grappling with other armed groups that have compounded its insecurity challenges in the north of the country.
Military crackdowns have yielded little results.
The jihadist conflict has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, prompting the formation of a regional military coalition to fight these groups.
The coalition has lost steam in recent years after the withdrawal of Niger due to a diplomatic spat with Nigeria following a 2023 military coup in Niger.
Earlier this month, the United States began deploying troops to Nigeria to provide technical and training support to the country’s soldiers in fighting the jihadist groups.
The US Africa Command said 200 troops were expected to join the deployment overall.
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