Boko Haram fighters have killed 14 Nigerian fishermen in neighboring Niger, an anti-jihadist militia that operates alongside Nigeria’s military told AFP Tuesday.
The fishermen were among thousands of Nigerians who fled their homes in the northeast and sought refuge across the border in neighboring Niger to escape deadly raids by armed groups.
The victims, who were originally from the Nigerian towns of Malam Fatori and Doron Baga, were fishing when members of Boko Haram slaughtered them Sunday in Niger’s Diffa border district, the sources said.
“All 14 fishermen had their throats slit by the Boko Haram terrorists who operate in the Bosso area close to the border,” said Babakura Kolo, a vigilante group leader.
The state-funded Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) is made up of locals recruited by the military in Nigeria’s Borno state and trained to help it combat jihadist insurgents.
“They were attacked just few kilometers from the Malam Fatori on the Nigerian side of the border,” said Ibrahim Liman, who is also a member of the CJTF and confirmed the toll.
Nigeria’s troubled northeast has been plagued by a 15-year conflict that has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes, with 138,000 fleeing to Niger, according to the United Nations.
The displaced, who rely on international aid, resort to fishing, logging, and metal scrap scavenging to afford food and supplement their insufficient rations.
Boko Haram and the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) group have increasingly targeted loggers, herders, farmers, fishermen, and metal scrap collectors, accusing them of spying and divulging information to the army and allied militias.
ISWAP militants in May killed dozens of fishermen on three islands on the Nigerian side of Lake Chad, in retaliation for military air strikes on ISWAP camps that decimated scores of fighters and their families.
Lake Chad, which straddles Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad, serves as a sanctuary for Boko Haram and ISWAP who use it as a base from which to launch attacks into the countries.