It has been reported that Islamist terror-group Boko Haram has made an attack on a village on Christmas Eve. Early reports indicate that as many as 11 people were killed in the village of Pemi, in Borno state.
It is believed that the motivation behind the attack was the fact that the village was predominantly Christian. It was said to have been carried out by a significant number of Boko Haram fighters. It is believed that the group drove into the village on motorbikes and trucks and then began to open fire on the civilian population indiscriminately. Among those killed were a local priest. A church and several homes were burnt to the ground and medical supplies from a local health-centre were stolen.
Many of the villagers then ran into the surrounding forests and it is feared that once a more in-depth search of the area is carried out, then more bodies could be found.
Local leader, Abwaku Kabu, speaking before the true death toll was known, said:
"The terrorists killed seven people, burnt 10 homes and looted food supplies that were meant to be distributed to residents to celebrate Christmas."
Boko Haram operate in the north of Nigeria and aim to establish their own Islamic caliphate across the region in line with strict Sharia Law. They have been responsible for a huge number of brutal killings and as many as 36,000 people have died in the conflict between Boko Haram and the Nigerian army since 2009, while another 2 million have been forced to leave their homes. Despite continual crack-downs, the group appears to be undefeated and still capable of carrying out extremely violent acts. Only last month, Boko Haram attacked local farmer workers killing a number of them.
The group came to huge international attention in 2014 when it kidnapped 200 Nigerian schoolgirls and kept them as slaves for years before they were eventually rescued. The town where the girls were captured, Chibok, is not far from Pemi, where the Christmas Eve massacre took place.
The group's name roughly translates as 'Western education is forbidden'. Many of the group's attacks have indeed focused on schools where girls were being educated. The group has also targeted individuals who breach other codes of conduct they deemed 'un-Islamic'. This includes anyone voting in elections, as they believe only God should dictate how a society is run, women wearing trousers, and anyone attempting to obtain an education not directly linked to Islamic teachings.
Boko Haram mostly recruits from the extremely impoverished north of Nigeria where opportunities for young men are few and where knowledge of the outside world is limited. Their leader, Mohammed Yousef was killed in police custody in 2009, the same year that Boko Haram launched its first full-blown offensive against the Nigerian state.
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