Nigeria: 17 dead in jihadist attack

An attack by jihadists affiliated with the Islamic State group killed 17 people in a village in north-eastern Nigeria after residents refused to pay them a tax, an anti-jihadist militia and a villager told AFP on Tuesday.

A large number of fighters from the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) group stormed the remote village of Kayayya in Yobe state, 150km from Damaturu, the state capital, the sources said.

“The terrorists attacked the village at around 20:00 (19:00 GMT) with explosives and firearms,” said Gremah Bukar, a member of the army’s auxiliary militia.

“They then opened fire on the residents who were trying to flee. They killed 17 people and wounded five others”, said Mr Bukar.

The attack was carried out in retaliation for the villagers’ refusal to pay the jihadists a tax they were demanding on livestock, said Abubakar Adamu, another militia member who gave the same death toll.

In remote areas of Nigeria, militiamen and armed groups sometimes demand “taxes” from communities in order to exert control and collect funds.

Over the past two years, jihadists have carried out attacks beyond their stronghold in the north-east of Borno state.

Yobe, the immediate neighbour of Borno state, has also borne the brunt of jihadist violence, including deadly raids on villages, military bases, schools and markets, as well as mass kidnappings.

Since 2009, clashes with jihadists in Nigeria have killed at least 40,000 people and displaced around two million in the northeast of the country.

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