Suspected Islamist militants dressed as soldiers killed at least 42 villagers in northeastern Nigeria on Wednesday night, a day after reports of hundreds of civilians being killed in three different locations, according to The Associated Press.
Wednesday's attack occurred on the outskirts of the city of Maiduguri, the AP reported. The three attacks which occurred earlier this week happened in the Borno state, where Boko Haram insurgents first launched their campaign to carve out an Islamist caliphate, the AP reported. Hundreds of people were slaughtered in those three villages alone.
The gunmen in military uniform arrived in three Toyota HiLux vehicles, which the military regularly uses, called the civilians together in the village of Bardari, then opened fire, only stopping after everyone huddled were dead, according to the AP.
Boko Haram has stepped up its revolt and mounted nearly daily attacks since it grabbed world headlines in April by abducting more than 200 schoolgirls in another part of the state, the AP reported.
The mass abduction, and Boko Haram's fight-back against a military offensive, has increased political pressure on President Goodluck Jonathan who has faced regular street protests by activists criticising his response, the AP reported.
Jonathan has accepted help from the United States and other foreign powers who are alarmed at the prospect of further turmoil in Africa's largest economy and oil producer, and its potential impact on a fragile region, according to the AP.
Jonathan and the army have said they are doing all they can to release the girls, but have warned any attempt to free them by force could put them at risk, while any deals or prisoner swaps could encourage more kidnappings, the AP reported. Civilian groups who dare fight back face revenge attacks by Boko Haram, which had focused mostly on military and government targets in the early days of its revolt.
No group claimed responsibility for the latest attacks, and Boko Haram has no direct line of communication with the Western press and its purported leader, Abubakar Shekau, only occasionally claims attacks through videos circulated to local journalists, according to the AP.
Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague will host a meeting of African and Western officials in London next week aimed at stepping up efforts to defeat Boko Haram, his office said on Thursday.
