Story highlights
The governor of Nigeria's Borno state says Boko Haram militants attacked a village
He says he saw houses burned, more than 23 people buried in Konduga
"We cannot call them Muslims," the governor says of the attackers
Boko Haram is a group trying to implement strict Islamic law in Nigeria
In yet another gruesome attack in Nigeria, suspected Boko Haram militants torched houses in a Nigerian village and killed at least 23 people, a local governor said Wednesday.
Gov. Kashim Shettima, the leader of Nigeria’s Borno state, told reporters that he personally saw more than 23 bodies buried in the village of Konduga after an attack Tuesday night.
“I do not know what to call those barbarians that did this,” Shettima said. “We cannot call them Muslims, because Islam does not do this.”
Boko Haram is an Islamist militant group that has waged a campaign of violence in northeastern Nigeria, trying to impose their strict version of Sharia, or Islamic law.
Borno has been particularly hard hit and is one of three states in the region that’s been under a state of emergency since May due to the bloodshed.
On January 26, for instance, the state’s police commissioner said that Boko Haram militants opened fire on a village market and burned homes in the village of Kawuri.
At least 45 people died and another 26 were injured in this attack, which happened as suspected militants on all-terrain vehicles shot at people while traders were closing shop for the day, according to Borno state police commissioner Lawan Tanko.