…Sect kills 45 in Borno reprisal attack

No fewer than 45 villagers have been killed in a reprisal at­tack by Boko Haram in a remote community in Borno.

Sources said villagers at Azaya Kura, Mafa lo­cal government in central part of Borno had sighted some Boko Haram men who were inquiring about the movement and base of military troops in the area on Wednesday. “The de­velopment raised suspicion among the people,” a mili­tary source said.
Four of the spying Boko Haram men were eventu­ally killed, fuelling reprisal by the group who had re­portedly sent two other in­surgents to spy the village.
A group of Boko Haram fighters had hours later stormed Azaya-Kura vil­lage on same Wednesday which incidentally was the market day, killing at least 45 people.
A police source said the insurgents tied their vic­tims and slit their throats. “It was a bad situation. They were slaughtered like rams,” the source said.
Chairman of Mafa, Al­haji Shettima Lawan who confirmed the attack, de­scribed it as wicked. He said the deceased have been buried, adding that the community residents were taken unawares. He also disclosed that the council has distributed relief ma­terials to the people of the area, calling on the Fed­eral Government to deploy more troops to safeguard lives and properties.
Mafa, about 40 kilo­metres from Maiduguri, Borno capital and most communities in the centre have been under Boko Ha­ram siege since May even as Nigerian troops struggle to flush out the insurgents from the area.