The United Nations announced that the number of victims of a horrific massacre believed to be committed by Boko Haram against farmers and fishermen in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, has risen to 110.
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria said on Sunday that gunmen arrived on motorcycles and launched an attack on men and women who were working in rice fields in the village of Kushobi, and brutally killed dozens, according to his description.
The massacre took place on Saturday in conjunction with the organization of the first local elections since the start of the organizing operations in 2009, and many voters did not go to the polls in light of the volatile security situation in the state.
There were reports that the attackers took their victims to a nearby area and then slaughtered and shot them.
The Associated Press quoted Representative from Borno State Ahmed Satomi that the victims were targeted a day after farmers arrested a Boko Haram gunman in Kushobi village and handed him over to Nigerian security forces, after he was stripped of his weapons.
The agency said that the group imposes royalties on farmers in the area under threat, but indicated that these farmers are refusing to pay them to the militants.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari strongly condemned the mass killing incident and accused Boko Haram of carrying it out, stressing that his government provided support to the security forces to take the necessary steps to protect the population.
In the external reactions, the official for security and foreign policy in the European Union Josep Borrell expressed his extreme shock at the attack that targeted civilians in northeastern Nigeria.
Borrell said - in a tweet on Twitter - that the collective commitment to combating terrorism and violence must be continued in order to provide peace, security and stability for all African people.
It is noteworthy that Boko Haram has targeted northern Nigeria with a series of attacks that have killed thousands and displaced nearly two million people.