Attack in Nigeria leaves at least nine dead

Dikwa district political administrator Rawa Gana Modu said on Friday that Boko Haram fighters entered Gajibo village on foot, opening fire on locals and exchanging gunfire with a militia fighting alongside the army.

“Boko Haram insurgents killed nine people” on Thursday night, including two civilian militia members, and wounded several others, Modu said.

Troops from the nearby town of Dikwa intervened and helped drive the fundamentalists out of the village, the local leader said, adding that at least 10 attackers were killed in the clashes.

Boko Haram and rival fundamentalist group Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) have stepped up attacks on military bases and villages in Borno state and the neighboring states of Adamawa and Yobe in recent months.

The Nigerian army said Friday it had killed 16 fundamentalists who attempted to attack a military base in Damboa, also in Borno state. Nigerian troops, backed by fighter jets, managed to repel the attackers after two hours.

The 16-year conflict in Nigeria has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million in the northeast of the country, according to the United Nations.

The violence spread to neighboring countries — Niger, Chad and Cameroon — leading to the formation of a regional military coalition to combat Islamic fundamentalist groups.

Last Sunday, the Nigerian newspaper “Daily Trust” reported that ISWA fighters killed at least 50 farmers and an unknown number were kidnapped in an attack in Borno state.