Boko Haram Islamists shot dead at least nine people and set homes on fire in a raid on two villages in conflict-hit northeastern Nigeria, fleeing residents said today.
Villagers described how dozens of gunmen on motorbikes stormed Tadagara and Dunbulwa villages, 170 kilometres (100 miles) from Yobe state capital Damaturu, from yesterday night through to the following morning.
All nine victims were gunned down with assault rifles as the jihadis attacked Tadagara around 10:30 pm (2130GMT), looting thatch-roofed mud homes and shops before setting them ablaze, according to witnesses.
"Boko Haram gunmen came on motorcycles and opened fire on the village after we had retired for the night and killed nine residents. We fled into the bush from where we saw fire erupting from our homes as the gunmen set them alight after looting them," Tadagara villager Shuaibu Nuhu told AFP.
Residents said the Islamists stayed until dawn, sheltering from heavy rain before moving to nearby Dunbulwa village.
The inhabitants there had been warned of the danger by escaped Tadagara residents however and had fled by the time the gunmen arrived.
"We luckily left the village as soon as we heard Boko Haram gunmen were on the attack in Tadagara which was why they found the village empty. They carted away food and jerry cans of fuel. They then set fire to our homes," said Dunbulwa resident Sani Mai-Masara.
The attacks forced hundreds of villagers to flee to the town of Potiskum, 70 kilometres away, according to residents there.
