Boko Haram kills 11 villagers and abducts several women in Borno state

Boko Haram killed at least 11 villagers of Kuburvwa, near Chibok in Borno state on Sunday (21 August) night. The assailants are also accused of raping several women and kidnapping many others from the Nigerian village.

Abbas Gava, the spokesperson of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria, confirmed the attack to journalists in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state. He told the Premium Times that many people managed to flee into the nearby bushes to escape the attack and are still untraceable.

A local security operative told the paper on condition of anonymity that "many women, mostly married, were raped while others were taken away by the gunmen". Gava too confirmed that the Boko Haram attackers assaulted many women, including housewives. He added that he could not give the exact number of the kidnapped women.

He said: "The attack took place in Kuburvwa village which is located between Chibok and Damboa towns. According to reports we received from our operatives in that area, the Boko Haram gunmen invaded the village at night on Sunday and began to shoot."

The latest Boko Haram attack comes after the Nigerian government claimed that they have defeated the militant group, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (Isis). The chief of Nigerian Air Force, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar, recently said that they have killed about 300 Boko Haram fighters over the last week in a raid in Borno State.

Recently, a video surfaced of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, who were taken away by Boko Haram in 2014. The video has given the family members of the kidnapped girls renewed hope that their girls are alive and could be brought back. However, they have accused the government of not doing enough for their safe return.