Villagers count losses as armed terrorists kill 16 in separate attacks across Borno, Yobe
Atleast 16 people have lost their lives in three separate attacks on New Year’s Day, with 14 victims in Borno’s Chibok district and an additional two at a checkpoint in Gujba, Yobe State.
Heavily armed insurgents, their affiliation uncertain, carried out the assaults, leaving devastation in their wake.
In the first incident, assailants descended on Gatamarwa village in the Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, riding eight motorbikes and a Hilux truck, they opened fire indiscriminately, causing chaos.
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Residents reported looting, arson, and the loss of eleven lives, with two others wounded.
A second attack targeted Tsiha village, with residents returning from a funeral falling victim to the same group of insurgents.
Three individuals lost their lives in this assault. Disturbingly, the absence of security forces in both villages left residents relying on local vigilantes for protection.
Gatamarwa village, already scarred by previous attacks, now grapples with renewed fear, prompting some residents to contemplate leaving for safer havens. The Borno State police confirmed the incidents, revealing the death of eleven villagers in Gatamarwa and three in Tsiha.
Simultaneously, in Gujba, Yobe State, suspected members of an armed group, possibly JAS, attacked a checkpoint at 10 pm. A truck driver was killed, and his conductor succumbed to wounds sustained in the fierce fighting that ensued.
The memories of the 2014 attacks in Gujba, where 49 schoolchildren lost their lives, resurfaced, heightening the terror among residents.
As communities grapple with the aftermath, the incidents underscore the urgent need for enhanced security measures to protect vulnerable regions from such ruthless attacks.
