Landmine explosion in Borno causes multiple casualties

Two non-governmental organisations operating in the area report that when a vehicle hit with a landmine in an area where Boko Haram extremists are active, at least 12 loggers were killed in northeastern Nigeria’s Borno state, close to the Cameroon border.

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According to two reports examined by AFP on Monday, the loggers were travelling to the bush to gather firewood when the flat-bed truck carrying them ran over a mine on the highway outside Pulka village that was allegedly planted by terrorists from Boko Haram.

The centre of an Islamist insurgency that has lasted more than ten years is northeastern Nigeria, where terrorists continue to target rural areas even after being driven from the vast areas of territory they once controlled.

Men thought to be members of Boko Haram explosives that were planted… and along the Pulka to Gwoza highway killed 12 people while injuring many more, according to one of the reports.

Seven additional loggers were hurt, “three of whom are very critical and have been evacuated to Maiduguri for further medical attention,” according to the other source that listed the same toll.

When asked to confirm the detonation, the Nigerian security services remained silent.

Recent mine explosions targeting civilian convoys have increased, and jihadists have been held accountable for them.

Gwoza became the capital of Boko Haram’s alleged caliphate after they took control of the city in July 2014. The jihadists still attack neighbouring towns from their hideouts in the highlands near the Cameroonian border, despite the fact that Nigerian army recaptured it in March 2015.

Villagers in the region took refuge in Gwoza and the neighbouring town of Pulka, where they are being housed in camps protected by the military.

In order to prevent extremists from murdering or kidnapping locals who wander into the jungle, particularly women who gather firewood and acacia fruits, troops patrol the region.

Loggers, farmers, and herders are frequently the targets of Boko Haram and the rival Islamic State West Africa Province, who claim that they are spying on them for the military and anti-jihadist militia that is against them.

Since the hardline Islamist organisation started a rebellion in 2009, at least 40,000 people have died and over two million more have been displaced. As the conflict grew, a regional military force was formed to combat the rebels in adjacent Chad, Niger, and Cameroon.