Nigeria: Boko Haram gunmen shoot fleeing villagers killing 150 people

Gunmen from Boko Haram shot villagers while others drowned trying to escape the notorious jihadists as they assaulted their homes in north-eastern Nigeria. The attack left 150 Kukuwa-Gari villagers in Yobe state dead in the attack.

The scores of militants who arrived on motorcycles by car "opened fire instantly, which forced residents to flee. They shot a number of people", Modu Balumi, a resident of Kukuwa-Gari, told AFP. "Unfortunately many residents who tried to flee plunged into the river which is full from the rain. Many drowned".

The latest tally, Balumi said, showed a total of 150 people either shot dead or drowned in the attack. "The gunmen deliberately killed a fisherman who tried to save drowning residents of the village."

This is just the most recent attack on the Kukuwa-Gari villagers by Boko Haram, which began to forge an alliance with Islamic State (Isis) in 2014. On 29 July, according to a member of the local government council, 32 Boko Haram militants on motorcycles raided the village at 10.30pm, killing 10 people. The attackers also "burnt more than half of the village, including food silos and livestock", the local government source said at the time.

The most recent attack happened on 13 August. The militants destroyed telecommunications infrastructure nearby, cutting off the village from speedier communications. During the attack "most residents, particularly women and children, ran towards the river in confusion," said villager Bukar Tijjani. "They were pursued by the gunmen, who kept firing at them. In the frantic effort to escape they jumped into the river, which was full to the brim."