Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Fighters from the Boko Haram jihadist group killed 14 farmers in restive northeast Nigeria , members of a government -backed militia said Tuesday.
The sources told AFP that insurgents on Monday seized 15 farmers working on their irrigation fields in Ngwom village, 14 kilometers ( nine miles) north of the region’ s main city Maiduguri , and cut their throats.
“ They slaughtered the farmers , killing 14 while one survived with a deep slash . They left him for dead , ” Babakura Kilo , a leader of the anti – jihadist group , said .
The insurgents captured the farmers as they tended to their crops during the early afternoon, giving them no room to escape , said another member Ibrahim Liman who gave the same death toll .
The survivor was taken to a hospital in a “ life -threatening condition , ” Liman said .
Boko Haram and rival group Islamic State West Africa Province ( ISWAP ) have increasingly targeted loggers, herders and fishermen in their violent campaign, accusing them of spying and passing information to the military and the local militia fighting them .
At least 36, 000 people have been killed in the jihadist conflict which displaced around two million from their homes since 2009.
The violence spread into neighbouring Niger , Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition to fight the militants.
AFP
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