ⁿAbout 20 people comprising fish farmers and wood loggers have been killed and an unspecified number of others wounded when a landmine suspected to have been planted by Boko Haram terrorists exploded in the outskirts of Gwoza local government area in Borno State, local sources said.
It was gathered that the incident occurred around 11am on Thursday at the resettled village of Hambagda, a few kilometres away from Gwoza town.
According to a Civilian JTF source, some of the victims were loggers who went in search of firewood to support their families.
“It is a sad day for us in Gwoza town, we lost about 20 loggers and several others sustained gunshot wounds. The terrorists planted improvised explosive devices IEDs on the route after the explosions, they fired at the helpless civilians,” the source said.
Another source claimed that the victims, mostly farmers and individuals gathering firewood, had gone into nearby bush areas to prepare their land ahead of the coming rainy season when they were attacked.
A local source, who spoke on the incident confirmed that 18 bodies have so far been recovered around communities close to Gwoza town. They also warned that the death toll could rise, as several people were still unaccounted for.
Residents said the attackers appeared to be moving through the area in a series of violent raids, raising fresh concerns over security in farming communities as the planting season approaches.
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