Insecurity: 13 scrap metal scavengers shot dead by armed Men
Only a month after suspected Boko Haram/Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) terrorists massacred over 55 scrap metal scavengers in two Borno State local government areas, the insurgents have slain 13 more scavengers in Borno State.
The prior attacks occurred in a community in the State’s Dikwa local government area, when terrorists killed 23 youths while scavenging for scrap metals, and in the Kala-Balge local government region, where over 32 youths died in similar circumstances while sourcing for their means of livelihood.
Boko Haram fighters attacked a group of scavengers on Saturday in Goni Kurmi, Bama local government area of the State, according to an intelligence report received by Zagazola Makama, a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in Lake Chad, and made available to newsmen.
Hundreds of additional people, including women, who were internally displaced persons (IDPs), escaped the area and are now taking refuge in Bama, according to top security sources.
According to the informant, Boko Haram fighters from Gazuwa town arrived on four hilux trucks and motorcycles, with more arriving on foot, and surrounded the victims before unleashing terror on them.
The victims were 11 men and two women, according to the source.
Boko Haram terrorists have attacked scrap metal scavengers on several occasions, accusing them of plundering abandoned houses in desolate communities.
The latest incident takes the total number of people killed in the last four weeks to 63.
On May 22, rebels assassinated 32 scrap metal scavengers in Modu village, Kala-Balge Local Government Area, and 23 others in Mukdala village, Dikwa LGA.
According to the State’s Commissioner of Police, Abdu Umar, the victims frequently sneak into the forests from the towns without telling the security authorities for scrap metal scavenging.
