UN fumes over Iswap killing of 36 fishermen in NE Nigeria
Saturday March 11 2023
Cars burnt down by suspected members of Iswap during an attack on February 9, 2020. The UN on March 9, 2023, condemned ISWAP attacks and murder of 36 IDPs in North Nigeria. PHOTO | AUDU MARTE | AFP
The United Nations (UN) has condemned the killing of 36 fishing internally displaced people (IDPs) by the Islamic State of the West African (Iswap) militias on Thursday in Mukdolo village located in Ngala Local Government Area (LGA) of Northeast Borno State in Nigeria.
The UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr Matthias Schmale, on Thursday sent condolences to the bereaved families and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.
The UN Security Council at a meeting in UN Headquarters in New York USA. PHOTO | YUKI IWAMURA | AFP
Several people were also reportedly missing following the deadly attack.
According to reports, the victims of this heinous attack were fishermen and farmers eking out a livelihood in the insecure area.
These individuals included both IDPs and host community members from the neighbouring Dikwa LGA.
Mukdolo village had been abandoned prior to the attack due to the activities of armed rebels.
The UN stated that the shocking attack was another horrific reminder of the real violence and insecurity threats that IDPs and other people have faced for more than 13 years due to armed conflict in the West Africa region.
Read: Bandits kill 102 in Nigeria’s North West
The UN also reminded all conflicting parties to adhere to their obligations under the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) to protect civilians from harm.
Iswap warning
Iswap fighters had on several occasions warned the fishermen to stay away from the zones before they unleashed an attack on them.
A local who escaped from the attack said the terrorists surrounded the fishermen near the riverbanks and opened fire on them, killing at least 36 people and kidnapping others.
The survivor said = all the victims were IDPs from Dikwa town.
The militias were reported to have stormed the village on motorbikes from a nearby forest and surrounded the fishermen.
A village in Nigeria deserted by residents in the aftermath of attacks by fleeing bandits. PHOTO | MOHAMMED MOMOH | NMG
“They started shooting at all angles and only three of us made it back to Dikwa,” he said.
Mr Zagazola Makama, a Counter-Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region, confirmed the incident and explained that some among the victims managed to flee, with three of them sustaining bullet wounds.
“They asked them to lie down. Thereafter, they used their fishing net and wrapped them before they started torturing them. After they became unconscious, they opened fire on them, killing them instantly,” Makama said.
“The bodies of the 36 were later recovered during a search and rescue operation by troops who received the news from victims who fled the attack,” Makama added.
Since 2009, extremists have continued to hit soft targets including invading schools to kidnap and kill male students.
More than 65,000 people have been killed since insurgency emerged in Northeast Nigeria.
Many Nigerian schools as well as other social infrastructure, including electricity and telecommunication facilities have been destroyed.
Farming and fishing which the mainstay of Northeast Africans especially those in the Lake Chad region, have been truncated and more than 2.1 million people displaced.
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Many of the displaced now camp in Nigeria while some have crossed the border to Cameroon.