MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Aug. 26 — More than 4,000 people were displaced in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State after a deadly attack by suspected Boko Haram militants last week, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said Monday.
At least 44 people were killed when Dumba, a Nigeria-Chad border community near Baga, a town close to state capital Maiduguri, was attacked by the militants last Tuesday.
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NEMA spokesperson Abdulkadir Ibrahim said in a statement that the 4,000 displaced persons were mostly women, children, fishermen and farmers.
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All displaced victims of the attack stayed at a public school in Baga, said the spokesperson.
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“The internally displaced persons were provided with mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets, and other non-food items like buckets, cups, plates, wax prints, toilet soaps, sanitary pads and detergents,” the official said.
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Food items, including rice, maize, guinea corn, millet, vegetable oil, palm oil, noodles, salt, sugar and milk, were also distributed.
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He said Red Cross and other rescue agencies and health officials are providing assistance to the displaced persons.
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Victims of the attack said the attackers stormed their community, slitting the throats of residents and shooting sporadically. Houses were burnt and many villagers were injured.
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Boko Haram, based in northeastern Nigeria, seeks to enshrine the Islamic sharia law in the Constitution, declaring war against Western education.
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Amid increasing casualties including women and children, President Goodluck Jonathan tried but failed to reach a cease-fire with the sect in April.