Suspected militants affiliated with the Islamic State have carried out two attacks in Nigeria’s Borno state, resulting in the deaths of 32 people, including 25 herders, according to media reports on Thursday.
The attacks occurred in the Lake Chad area on Tuesday, which is currently under the control of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), with the group holding significant portions of territory.
During the first attack, on more than a dozen motorcycles, ISWAP militants, riding in pairs, killed 25 Fulani herders who were grazing their cattle in Gudumbali forest, which is approximately 95 kilometers (60 miles) away from the regional capital, Maiduguri, according to the sources.
“The terrorists… left without taking anything” from the dead herders, said anti-jihadi militia leader Babakura Kolo.
According to Kolo, the militants ordered the herders to vacate the area, accusing them of passing information about their activities to the military.
The anti-jihadist militia are semi-official paramilitary units that collaborate with the army.
“Most of the 25 victims were shot while a few of them were hacked to death,” said Umar Ari, a militia member who participated in the evacuation and burial of the dead on Wednesday.
Boko Haram and its rival ISWAP have been targeting loggers, herders, farmers, fishermen, and metal scrap collectors in their campaign, accusing them of passing information to the military and the local militia fighting against them.
Last month, ISWAP militants killed 11 farmers in Kuwayangiya village outside Maiduguri, while rival Boko Haram kidnapped 30 herders from three villages on the shores of Lake Chad, demanding ransom payments.
In the second incident just hours later, seven men were shot dead by ISWAP militants manning a checkpoint in Borno-Yasin village in Gubio district, which they use as a crossing point into their Lake Chad territory, according to the anti-jihadi militia.
Over the past 14 years, the conflict has resulted in the death of at least 40,000 people and the displacement of around two million individuals. The conflict has also spread into neighboring countries like Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.