At least 46 people were killed and 35 others injured when Boko Haram gunmen raided Dalori village near Maiduguri, burning the Nigerian village and sending residents fleeing into the bush, according to a relief official and residents.
The insurgents arrived in golf carts and on motorcycle, said Col. Mustapha Anka, a military spokesman in Maiduguri.
“So far we have 46 dead and 35 others injured in the attack while the village was completely burnt,” Mohammed Kanar, head of the National Emergency Management Agency for Northeast Nigeria said of the late Saturday attack.
“We evacuated 36 dead bodies from the village to the hospital while the civilian (joint task force) evacuated another 10,” he said.
Boko Haram gunmen armed with machine guns invaded Dalori, 12 kilometers southeast of Maiduguri, about 7:15 p.m., opening fire and torching homes, residents said.
“We had just finished evening prayers when the gunmen came to our village and indiscriminately opened fire and setting fire to homes,” resident Kulo Sheriff said. “They detonated two bombs, which added to our fright and confusion. Everybody fled into the bush from where we saw our homes burning.”
Another resident, Adamu Kyari, gave a similar account.
“We slept in the bush with no blankets despite the chilling weather. We could hear soldiers battling with the Boko Haram attackers. It was terrifying,” Kyari said.
As people fled toward the village of Gomari Kerkeri, three women carrying suicide bombs tried to make their way into a crowd, Anka said, but they “were intercepted and subsequently got blown up.”
Dalori is near the largest camp for people displaced by Boko Haram violence. It houses around 20,000 people.
As reported by CNN