Boko Haram kills four farmers in fresh attack

Boko Haram jihadists have killed four farmers near Maiduguri , in the latest bloodshed in the restive region, witnesses and a local militia leader said on Monday .Dozens of fighters believed to be loyal to Boko Haram factional leader Abubakar Shekau attacked a group of farmers working in their field near Jiddari – Polo on Monday , said the farmers who survived the attack .

They said the Islamists hacked their victims to death and left another farmer with severe injuries .

“ They came in large numbers on foot while we were picking cowpea in the field and arrested six of us while others escaped , ” Mala Umara told AFP .

“ They macheted four to death before my eyes and left the other man seriously injured , ” he said .

A civilian militia leader in the city , Babakura Kolo confirmed the killings .

Umara , 75 , was spared by the militants with a message to Nigerian troops stationed in Jiddari – Polo that they should brace for an impending attack from the jihadists.

“ They asked me to deliver a message to the soldiers that they should be prepared for an attack soon .

“ They told me the same message three times and emphasized I convey it to the soldiers , ” Umara said .

Abba Muhammad was also among the farmers who escaped when the militants stormed the crop fields .

“ Five of them armed with guns and machetes encircled me and began asking me the location of soldiers in Jiddari -Polo, ” he said .

“ One of them shouted that they should attack me with machetes but I instinctively bolted .

“ Two of them pursued me but I was too fast for them . They took my bicycle with them , ” he said .

Authorities in the region could not be immediately reached about this latest attack .
Boko Haram has stepped up attacks on farmers and loggers in recent years , accusing them of passing information about the group to the military .

Last week , the jihadists killed nine farmers and abducted 12 others in an attack on Mammanti village near Maiduguri .

On November 16 , the insurgents kidnapped 50 loggers near the town of Gamboru on the border with Cameroon , four days after 15 farmers were shot dead as they worked in their fields near the garrison town of Monguno , 140 kilometres from Maiduguri .

Last month the jihadists hacked 12 farmers to death in Kalle, a remote village 17 kilometres from Maiduguri .

Despite the government’ s insistence that Boko Haram are near defeat , the group has recently carried out major attacks on military and civilian targets, killing scores .

Security sources said at least 44 soldiers were killed in an attack in Metele village , near the border with Niger, last week , although one soldier who escaped gave a higher toll .

AFP has reported at least 17 attempts to overrun army bases since July .

Many have been claimed by the IS -backed Boko Haram faction , Islamic State West Africa Province ( ISWAP ) .

More than 27 , 000 people have died since the start of the insurgency in the remote northeast in 2009 and 1 . 8 million are still homeless .

AFP .

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