News / Nigeria

Boko Haram landmines kill 11 Nigerian security personnel

Wednesday, 30 December 2020 2:12 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 30 December 2020 2:12 PM ]

The undated photo shows Nigerian troops patrolling the streets of the town of Baga in the northeastern state of Borno.

Landmines planted by Boko Haram militants have killed 11 security personnel, including four soldiers in northeast Nigeria, security sources said Tuesday.

Seven hunters recruited to help the military fight the insurgents were killed on Tuesday when their vehicle hit a landmine in the village of Kayamla, outside Borno State's capital Maiduguri.

"Seven hunters died in the explosion and nine others are badly injured," Babakura Kolo, the head of a local anti-militant militia, told AFP.

"Their vehicle hit a landmine as they were pursuing Boko Haram insurgents," he added.

Another local militiaman confirmed the incident.

Four Nigerian soldiers were killed on Monday when their vehicle hit a landmine planted by Boko Haram fighters in Logomani village near the border with Cameroon, two security sources told AFP.

There has been a sharp increase in attacks in northeast Nigeria since the start of the month.

Last week 40 loggers were kidnapped and three killed near the Cameroonian border.

On Christmas Eve, Boko Haram killed 11 people, burnt a church and seized a priest in a village near Chibok, where it notoriously kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls six years ago.

Boko Haram and a splinter group known as ISWAP have killed 36,000 people in the northeast and forced roughly two million to flee since 2009, according to the United Nations.

110 civilians killed in 'Boko Haram attack' in northeast Nigeria: UN

The UN says at least 110 people were killed in the weekend attack in northeast Nigeria by members of the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group.

C. Africa opposition coalition demands elections be scrapped

Elsewhere in Africa, a powerful opposition coalition in Central African Republic on Wednesday called for the "cancellation, pure and simple" of the first round of elections last weekend that were troubled by armed groups.

In a statement, the Democratic Opposition Coalition (COD-2020), an alliance of political and other groups, said Sunday's elections "were not fair and inclusive and are in no way the expression of the people's will."

The vote, for the presidency and legislature, has been seen as a key stability test for the CAR, one of the world's poorest and most volatile countries.

(Source: AFP)

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