Boko Haram Continues Killing Spree — 15 Dead In Nigerian Town

The killings carried out by the terrorist group Boko Haram have not slowed down. According to Reuters, gunmen suspected as Islamic militants opened fire on a Nigerian town in the northeastern part of the country. The Boko Haram attack killed at least 15 people, according to witness accounts from a security source.

A survivor of the Boko Haram shooting named Jonah Umaru explained the violent scene over the phone.

“There were about twenty, well-armed. They came in four-wheel drive vehicles and some motorcycles. Initially, I thought they were soldiers. The man running behind me was gunned down as I was fleeing. Afterwards, there were 15 people lying dead in the streets.”

The town targeted during the Boko Haram killings was Kautikari, which is near the Cameroon border. The 15 dead victims are not even the worst result of a Boko Haram raid this year. Kautikari is only 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the village of Chibok, which was the site of another Boko Haram attack in April wherein 200 schoolgirls were abducted. In the same area, 172 women and children were kidnapped by militants suspected to be Boko Haram gunmen, and 35 other people were killed. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the Boko Haram death toll has reached 10,340 people this year alone.

“We want this war stopped,” said Niger’s Interior Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou. “If we can talk with them to stop what’s happening in Nigeria, why not.”

Massaoudou spoke to the National Assembly on Tuesday, claiming that Nigeria is willing to negotiate with Boko Haram, but the country does not know who in Boko Haram to address. As a result of Boko Haram’s reign of terror, more than 87,000 refugees have fled to Niger’s southwestern Diffa region, according to authorities in Niger.

DW reported that every country seems to be fending for itself in the fight against Boko Haram, receiving little aid from foreign and neighboring nations. While some of the governments of states affected by Boko Haram attacks have banded together, the cooperation has not done much to stop Boko Haram raids on Nigerian villages.

According to Al Jazeera, Cameroon has taken one of the first substantial steps in the fight against Boko Haram, launching an air strike after Boko Haram seized a military camp in Assighasia.

“After two strikes and heavy fire… the assailants fled the Assighasia camp… losing several fighters,” said Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary. “The toll from combat will be released once the operational evaluation is complete.”