“Bullets were flying everywhere. We were fleeing for our lives. Some of the insurgents on motorbikes followed us, still shooting, as we ran into the bush and into farms to hide. Some people were killed before they reached safety. I saw 13 people die.”

These were the chilling words of a resident of Kilangar village in the Askira-Uba Local Government Area of Borno State which was attacked on Sunday, December 19. At least 20 residents were killed in the vicious raid.

Residents said the insurgents, thought to be members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), said many were badly wounded by gunshots, an unknown number of people were abducted, food and livestock were taken, shops and properties looted and vehicles and houses were razed to the ground.

Habu Musa, who lives in the village, told RNI reporter Aisha Jamal that the fighters arrived in three gun trucks and on many motorbikes.

“They were shooting haphazardly at people. Many residents fled into the bush and inside farms to hide. But when the attackers saw us running, some of them followed us on motorbikes, still shooting. I saw 13 people die. Bullets were flying everywhere and many people were wounded. They were taken to hospital in Askira.”

He said four members of one family were killed in their house.

The attack was unusual, Musa said, because this was the first time the insurgents had targeted residents, a mix of Christians and Muslims, in the village.

He did not know if the insurgents had attack them because it was a celebratory time for Christians. “We are in shock.”

The insurgents have strongholds in and around the communities of Kilangar, Ngulde and Ngohi.

The Askira-Uba area is close to the Sambisa forest where the Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’way Wa’l-Jihād (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram, has a stronghold. The district has witnessed repeated militant attacks.

Musa said some of the insurgents lived among the people of Kilangar and controlled the village.

“They have stopped our children from attending schools, we are not allowed to go to church or to any official government meetings. Although they have stopped us doing things, they have not attacked us before. But now, suddenly, they surprised us by attacking us.”

He said troops arrived on Monday morning after the attack.

Musa said the community needed permanent troops for security. He said they could not join local hunters, vigilantes or the civilian joint task force because the insurgents would kill them.

Other residents said it was the hunters and vigilantes who had repelled the insurgents.

Abdullahi Askira, the deputy speaker of Borno State’s House of Assembly, comes from the area. His house was burnt down a few months ago by insurgents.

The attack occurred at the time President Muhammadu Buhari returned from the two-day Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit where he reportedly asked for “concrete support to help defeat terrorism and insurgency on the African continent”.