Cameroonian soldiers on Sunday killed about 70 residents of Kirawa-Jimni,
a village in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State.
According to Associated
Press (AP), the troops opened fire on the residents while pursuing Boko Haram
insurgents. The soldiers, upon entering Kirawa- Jimni, a border community near
Cameroon, located around the area where Boko Haram declared a caliphate in August
2014, were said to have asked the villagers where the terrorists were, before
opening fire.
According to Muhammed
Abba, the Deputy Commander, Civilian Joint Task Force (JTF), a local vigilance
outfit, “we didn’t know what was going on, but the Cameroonian troops suddenly
appeared and began to ask us for Boko Haram terrorists. Before we could say a
word, they started firing. Their action scared most of us and we began to run.
By the time people returned on Monday, we found 70 corpses littering the ground.”
Corroborating his
account, Abbas Gava, the spokesman of Civilian JTF, said he received calls from
residents of Ashigashiya village near the border with Cameroon. He said: “We
heard that the soldiers were in hot pursuit of the Boko Haram terrorists who
ran into Kirawa-Jimni. The soldiers did not waste time upon arrival as they
immediately opened fire on the villagers,” he said.
Kirawa-Jimni is located
around the area where the insurgents declared a caliphate in August last year.
Many Gwoza residents, who fled to Maiduguri and Yola in Adamawa State, claimed
that the terrorists are still in the area. About 150 people were reportedly
killed by Cameroonian troops when they chased Boko Haram insurgents into
Nigeria on November 30 this year. The soldiers were also said to have burnt
several huts and forced people out of their communities, an allegation the
Cameroon’s government denied, saying its military is trained to respect human
rights.
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