Boko Haram suspected of killing 42 Nigerian villagers

Suspected Islamist militants dressed as soldiers rounded up and killed at least 42 villagers in northeastern Nigeria, as an escalating insurgency increasingly targets civilians, a police source said.

The shootings on the outskirts of the city of Maiduguri late on Wednesday came a day after officials said raiders killed scores in three other settlements in Borno state, where Boko Haram insurgents launched their campaign to carve out an Islamist caliphate.

Fightback Boko Haram has stepped up its revolt and mounted nearly daily attacks since it grabbed world headlines in April by abducting more than 200 schoolgirls in another part of the state. The mass abduction, and Boko Haram’s fight

back against a military offensive, has increased political pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan, who has faced regular street protests by activists criticising his response.

The gunmen in military uniform arrived in three vehicles, called the civilians together in the village of Bardari, then opened fire, a police source said: “The people couldn’t identify them in time as terrorists.”

The militants then left, crossing a river and setting fire to houses in the neighbouring village of Kayamla, added the source.

“Boko Haram wreaked havoc in the villages. They burned houses and killed people mercilessly after tricking the residents,” said Saleh Mohammed, a member of Civilian JTF – one of a number of vigilante groups that have sprung up to try to fight back. – (Reuters)