Nigerian soldiers speak to people standing away from houses burnt by Boko Haram militants in Zabarmari, a fishing and farming village near Maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria, July 3, 2015. (AFP) The Boko Haram Takfiri militants have slaughtered at least 10 fishermen during a series of recent violent attacks on three villages in Nigeria's northeastern state of Borno.
Local sources said on Thursday that the deadly militant raids were carried out in the villages near the town of Baga, on the shores of the Lake Chad in the country’s troubled northeast.
"On Monday around 4:00 p.m. (1500 GMT), Boko Haram attacked three villages on the shores of Lake Chad where they slaughtered 10 people, all of them fishermen," AFP quoted Abubakar Gamandi, the head of the fishermen's union in Borno State as saying.
The account was confirmed by a local fisherman, identified as Buhari Dan-Malam.
The news comes a few days after at least 14 people were killed and nearly 50 others wounded in a July 26 bomb attack at a busy market in in the town of Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State.
Boko Haram has intensified its attacks since President Muhammadu Buhari took office in late May, unleashing a fresh wave of violence that has claimed about 800 lives in just two months.
Security people walk past houses burnt by the Boko Haram militants at Zabarmari, a fishing and farming village near Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, July 3, 2015. (AFP photo)The Nigerian government on Thursday appointed a general to lead a new multinational task force set up to fight Boko Haram across the region.
Nigerian military sources said Major General Iliya Abbah, who previously commanded military operations in the oil-rich Niger Delta, will head the five-nation force - the Multi-National Joint Task Force made up of 8,700 troops from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin.
The multi-national force is expected to be more effective than a current alliance in the battle to curb militancy. The regional task force will be headquartered in Chad's capital N'Djamena.
Violence by Boko Haram has spilled over into Nigeria’s neighboring countries.
Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau has repeatedly threatened to attack Nigeria’s neighbors that have joined forces against the militants.
The three Nigerian states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe, located in Nigeria’s northeastern region, have been the epicenter of six years of Boko Haram violence, which has claimed over 15,000 lives and displaced a further 1.5 million people.
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