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A bloody and terrifying raid by Boko Haram
on Friday left at least 25 people dead in three
villages in eastern Nigeria’s Adamawa state,
according to residents and a local government
official. Adamawa state borders Borno state,
Boko Haram’s birth place and main
stronghold.
Storming in on motorcycles, the gunmen
attacked the neighboring villages of Kopa,
Maikadire and Yaffa around 9 a.m. local
time, shooting and killing residents, according
to witnesses and local government chairman
Maina Ularamu.
The gunmen are former residents who joined
Boko Haram and left to live in Boko Haram
camps, according to Ularamu and the village
residents. After the Nigerian military
launched a campaign of bombing raids and
ground assaults on their camps, those Boko
Haram militants sought to escape by returning
to their villages.
Villagers tipped off military authorities and
the returnees were arrested.
Friday’s attacks were retaliation against those
villages, according to witnesses and the
government chairman.
Boko Haram
Founded 12 years ago by charismatic cleric,
Mohammed Yusuf, Boko Haram calls for a
pure Islamic state in Nigeria. Yusuf was killed
by police in 2009 and many say his death
made Boko Haram even more violent and
defiant.
Abubakar Shekau took control of the group
and ramped up the attacks. Murders and
kidnappings of Westerners became a Boko
Haram signature. Under Shekau the group
also began a bombing campaign that targets
churches, mosques and government buildings.
Boko Haram translates to “Western education
is a sin” in the local Hausa language.
The
militant group says it wants stricter
enforcement of Sharia law across Nigeria,
which is split between a majority Muslim
north and a mostly Christian south.
Boko Haram’s attacks have escalated in recent
years in an apparent effort to destroy the
Nigerian government.
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