At least 60 people have been killed in a brutal overnight attack by Boko Haram militants on the village of Darul Jamal in Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno State, local officials confirmed.
The assault, which took place late Friday, targeted a community near the Nigeria-Cameroon border where displaced residents had only recently returned. Among the dead were at least five soldiers stationed at a nearby military base, as well as 13 reconstruction workers who had been helping to rebuild the village.
Witnesses reported that more than 20 houses and 10 buses were set ablaze during the raid. Survivors described the attack as one of the deadliest in recent months, saying militants struck swiftly and left behind widespread devastation.
In response, the Nigerian Air Force said it carried out three successive airstrikes on fleeing fighters, killing more than 30 insurgents. “Surveillance revealed militants fleeing northwards towards nearby bushes, and they were decisively engaged,” Air Force spokesperson Ehimen Ejodame said.
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum, who visited the scene on Saturday, expressed sorrow and frustration. “It’s very sad, this community was resettled some months ago and they went about their normal business,” he told reporters. He also admitted that the Nigerian military remains overstretched, stressing that additional security forces—including a newly established Forest Guards unit—are urgently needed.
The attack underscores the resurgence of Boko Haram and its rival, the Islamic State’s West African Province (ISWAP), both of which have stepped up assaults on civilians and military outposts in recent months. In April, Governor Zulum warned of the group’s comeback after a series of deadly operations reclaimed swathes of territory.
Borno has been the epicentre of Boko Haram’s 15-year insurgency, which has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced over two million. At the height of its power in 2015, the group controlled large areas of the state before being pushed back by Nigerian forces.
However, regional efforts to contain the jihadists have been hampered by Niger’s recent withdrawal from the multinational force set up to tackle the insurgency.
Boko Haram first gained international notoriety in 2014 when it abducted over 270 schoolgirls from Chibok, sparking global outrage.
With Friday’s massacre, fears are mounting that the group is once again regaining strength and threatening fragile resettlement efforts in the north-east.
Source – My News Ghana
