ISIS extremists executed 20 Nigerian Christians in a brutal knife attack to “avenge the killing of the group’s leaders in the Middle East.” The Islamic State posted footage of their executions in a vile warning to Nigerians, that they are there, are expanding their territory, and have the intent of imposing a draconian and barbaric rule. The militants carried out the merciless executions in Borno state where rival Islamist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) have been abducting, looting and killing on a huge scale.
Footage of the latest massacre shows one of the executioners saying in the Hausa language that the killings are a response to ISIS deaths in the Middle East earlier this year. It came a week after Islamic rebels killed at least seven people in an attack in northeast Borno.
Over 35,000 people have been killed and many more displaced in West Africa as a result of the extremist groups. The groups are clashing with each other, as well as the local and national governments that oppose them.
The ISIS insurgents attacked Kautukari village in the Chibok area at the same time that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in the state to meet with survivors of jihadist violence.
The Chibok area is 70 miles away from Maiduguri, the state capital, where Guterres met with former militants being reintegrated back into the society and thousands of people displaced by the insurgency.
Boko Haram and ISWAP were originally aligned but the groups splintered in 2016 and are now considered rivals. “They came in large numbers with superior firepower (and) took over the community,” said Hassan Chibok, a community leader.
Troops from a nearby military base were deployed to repel the attack but “the damage had been done,” Chibok said, adding that “casualties are up to 10.”
Another resident, Yana Galang, said at least seven people were killed in the latest violence before the Nigerian military intervened.