At least 110 civilians were killed in a jihadist attack …

At least 110 civilians were killed during an attack on the rice fields located in the village of Koshobe, Northeastern Nigeria, a country that has suffered from the violence of the jihadist insurgency for more than a decade. “Armed men arrived on motorcycles and carried out a brutal attack on men and women working in the Koshobe camps,” United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria Edward Kallon said in a statement.

The document released by the UN does not mention the jihadist group Boko Haram, which has coordinated fierce attacks in this region for more than ten years and controls part of the territory. However, officers of a pro-government militia they assured that it was “without a doubt the work of this group which operates in the region and frequently attacks farmers. “ The insurgents “gagged” and “massacred” agricultural workers working in rice fields not far from Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, they added.

From the United Nations, Edward Kallon added that an unknown number of people were injured and that he received information which several women from the village could have been kidnapped. According to Kallon, this is “the most violent direct attack on innocent civilians” to date this year, although “unfortunately it is one of many such attacks on farmers, fishermen and families trying to find a chance to earn a living afterwards. over a decade of conflict ”.

Some of the bodies of the deceased were buried Sunday by hundreds of locals, during a funeral attended by the governor of Borno, Babagana Umara Zulum. “Excellency, as you have seen here, 43 bodies were buried, but others were not found at the scene of the incident. No one can tell you the exact number of people killed. Some of the victims are still missing “, he said a resident to the governor, according to the local newspaper Daily publication.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, for his part, “condemned” in a statement “the murder by terrorists of these farmers devoted to their work”. “The whole country is hurt by these senseless killings,” added Buhari.

The attack took place on the day of local elections in Borno state, the first since the start of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009. Over 36,000 people have died in acts of violence since conflict began in northeastern Nigeria, where more than two million people still cannot return home.