More than 50 people were killed in a Boko Haram ambush on an oil exploration team in northeast Nigeria earlier this week, multiple sources told AFP on Thursday, warning the death toll could rise.
Tuesday’s attack in the Magumeri area of Borno state on a convoy of specialists from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was the Islamist militants’ deadliest in months.
It underscored the persistent threat posed by the jihadists, despite government claims they were a spent force, and also the risks associated with the hunt for crude in the volatile Lake Chad basin.
Details of the ambush, which was initially thought to be a kidnapping attempt, have been slow to emerge and an exact death toll difficult to establish, as the military strictly controls access to rural Borno.
Telecommunications and other infrastructure have been severely damaged or destroyed in the conflict, which has left at least 20,000 dead and more than 2.6 million homeless since 2009.
The army said on Wednesday that 10 people were killed in the attack.
But one source involved in dealing with the aftermath told AFP on Thursday: “The death toll keeps mounting. Now we have more than 50… and more bodies are coming in.
“It’s clear that the attack wasn’t for abduction. They (Boko Haram) attacked just to kill.”
– Missing staff –
An aid agency worker in Magumeri, which is 50 kilometres (32 miles) northwest of Maiduguri, said 47 bodies were recovered from the bush as of Wednesday evening.
“Eleven of them were badly burned in the attack. They were burned alive in their vehicle, which was stuck in a trench,” he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment