At least 57 villagers were killed and over 70 remain missing after suspected Boko Haram militants attacked two communities in northeast Nigeria.
Survivors of Thursday’s assault in Borno State said fighters from the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (JAS) faction stormed Mallam Karamti and Kwatandashi villages, herding residents into the nearby bush.
Abdulrahman Ibrahim, a survivor, told the Associated Press that he helped bury dozens of victims recovered on Saturday, many with slit throats.
The militants accused villagers of spying for the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), according to witnesses who feared reprisals if named.
While ISWAP often targets military sites, JAS has turned to brutal civilian attacks, robberies, and abductions, analysts say.
“Without the capacity to strike the military, JAS is focused on terrorizing civilians,” said Malik Samuel of Good Governance Africa.
Local authorities could not confirm the death toll, and the military did not respond to requests for comment.
Burial efforts were delayed due to fears of ambush and the military’s absence during search operations for bodies in the bush.
The killings mark one of the deadliest episodes in Nigeria’s ongoing insurgency, now in its 15th year and rooted in Borno State.
Earlier in the week, ISWAP militants overran a Nigerian Army base in Marte, killing soldiers and seizing weapons, survivors reported on social media.
Following that attack, displaced persons in Marte fled to Dikwa, where aid groups are withdrawing amid international funding cuts.
On Saturday, a roadside bomb exploded along the Maiduguri-Damboa road, killing four and injuring more than 10 others, a local resident confirmed.
Since 2009, more than 35,000 people have been killed and 2.6 million displaced across Nigeria and neighbouring countries due to the conflict.