Gunmen attack two Nigerian villages

More than 70 people are reported to have died in two attacks by gunmen in Nigeria’s north-east, Nigerian media reported on Tuesday.

Witnesses have been recounting Sunday’s attacks in a village in Borno state and a church in Adamawa state. More than 50 people were killed in Borno and 22 were shot dead in Adamawa, Nigeria newspapers reported.

More than 50 gunmen entered Kawuri village in Borno at about 5pm (16h00 GMT), and killed 52 people, The Vanguard daily said.

The attackers set fire to 300 houses and shops, the report said.

In a separate incident, gunmen entered a Catholic church in Waga Chakawa village in Adamawa during mass on Sunday morning, Nigeria’s The Guardian newspaper reported.

The final death toll from the two attacks could be nearly 100, according to broadcaster Al Jazeera, citing officials and witnesses.

Adamawa, Borno and the neighbouring state of Yobe were placed under emergency rule in May last year to try to curb attacks by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

The group is active in the mainly Muslim north of Nigeria, carrying out attacks aimed mainly at Christians. Sapa-dpa