BAUCHI: Boko Haram extremists killed 28 people during attacks on remote farming and fishing villages in northeast Nigeria, members of a civilian defence group said on Friday.

A total of 24 people were killed in an attack on Tuesday night in Marfunudi, according to village resident Abubakar Jojo. The town is roughly 50 miles from the Borno state capital of Maiduguri.

Jojo said the Islamic extremists slit the throats of many of the victims.

Witnesses said the extremists also attacked the fishing village of Kafa, killing four people. Sadiq Kaka, a member of a defence group, said the four bodies were thrown into a river.

Word of attacks in remote areas such as these often take days to reach population centres.

More than 1,000 people have been killed since President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in March with a pledge to annihilate the militants, whose 6-year-old uprising has killed a total of 20,000 people. Nearly 2 million have been driven from their homes.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2015

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