Terrorists of the Islamic State of West Africa Province, ISWAP, have killed at least 23 farmers and fishermen in the village of Malam Karanti near Baga, in the Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State.
The attack reportedly took place on Thursday morning in Malam Karanti, a village five kilometres from Baga.
The terrorists were said to have gathered farmers and fishermen near the village and killed 23 of them.
“The terrorists spared an elderly man, who later alerted the community. The terrorists assembled people in Malam Karanti and killed them. Most of the victims were bean farmers,” a source told newsmen.
Residents trying to recover bodies of those killed were reportedly forced to retreat after ISWAP launched another attack.
“We tried to organise a rescue mission with security agencies to recover the victims’ bodies, but the terrorists returned and prevented us. Many families are waiting for their loved ones,” another source said.
Malam Karanti is an ISWAP enclave where civilians often farm and fish despite risks.
Meanwhile, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, had assured residents of the State and the North-East that the military was frantically working to deal with the terrorists and flush them out of their enclaves to end the crisis.
General Musa reiterated that the military was collaborating with friendly countries such as Russia, France, among others, to deploy sophisticated weapons that could bring the war quickly to an end.
According to him, recharging of the Lake Chad will also enable troops to navigate the Lake Chad axis to eliminate the terrorists, especially the ISWAP, who have capitalised on the economic fortunes of the Chad Basin, such as fishing and farming, to boost their logistics base
