At least 15 farmers have lost their lives and three others are still missing after an armed assault carried out this Wednesday by supposed members of the jihadist group Boko Haram in the state of Borno, in northeastern Nigeria, according to sources from the Police.
The spokesperson for the Borno police command, Nahum Daso, has specified that the ambush occurred in the districts of Ala and Musune, belonging to the town of Marte.
"Yes, there was an attack in Marte. Fifteen people died and others are still missing. Efforts are being made to determine their whereabouts," Daso has stated.
The farmers were working their lands or gathering firewood when they were surprised by the attackers. Testimonies from neighbors cited by the Nigerian newspaper 'Punch' indicate that the assailants tied up the workers before executing them.
The bodies of the 15 victims located were buried on Thursday according to Islamic law, while security forces have launched a wide-ranging search operation in the nearby areas to try to find the three farmers who remain missing.
"They were ambushed by terrorists while doing their daily work, tied up, forced to lie down, and executed at close range," alleged a local witness under anonymity collected by the newspaper, who stated that 15 of the 18 captured people have already been buried.
On the other hand, Amnesty International has released a statement this Friday condemning the attack, which it has described as a "horrible violation of international humanitarian law," and has called on the Nigerian government for urgent and transparent actions to strengthen the protection of vulnerable rural communities in the northeast of the country.
"The victims, who were residents venturing into the surrounding bush to gather firewood to earn a living or cook for their families, were ambushed and attacked by an alleged Boko Haram group," the organization has denounced.
The search efforts for the three missing farmers continue under the responsibility of the Police.
The northeast of Nigeria remains the main focus of Boko Haram's operations and its offshoot, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA). In recent years, however, violence has spread to other areas of the north and northwest of the country, fueling concern over the expansion of armed networks and criminal gangs and their severe impact on the civilian population.