Gunmen kill villagers in Nigeria’s northeast

Armed men have attacked a village in northeastern Nigeria, killing an unknown number of people and setting fire to homes, a witness said.

Clad in military uniforms, the attackers stormed the village about 9km from the town of Chibok in a convoy of sport utility and military vehicles, the witness told the Reuters news agency by telephone on Saturday.

Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons reporting from Maiduguri, said that the attack occurred in the district where more than 270 schoolgirls were kidnapped in April. The girls are yet to be found and returned to their parents.

“According to a source, Boko Haram have withdrawn from the area, following clashes with the Nigerian military,” our correspondent said.

Samuel Gali, a local councilor in Chibok, told Saharareporters that after killing and injuring several villagers in Kwaranglum, the fighters escaped and moved to the nearby village of Ntsiha.

Several of the injured were brought to Chibok General Hospital where some had already died of gunshot wounds, Saharareporters said.