Armed groups killed at least 40 farmers in the Nigerian state of Borno News about Boko Haram

Officials say the Boko Haram and ISWAP groups are suspected of being behind attacks on farmers in the Dumba region.

At least 40 farmers have been killed in an attack by armed groups in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state, according to government officials.

Fighters from the Boko Haram group i An affiliate of ISIL (ISIS) in the West African province (ISWAP) are suspected of carrying out the attack, Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum and State Information Commissioner Usman Tar said on Monday.

Tar said the groups rounded up dozens of farmers in Dumba on the shores of Lake Chad and killed them late Sunday.

“Initial reports indicate that around 40 farmers have been killed, while many who fled the attack are being sought to be reunited with their families,” Tar said.

The state government has ordered soldiers battling rebel fighters in the region “to track and destroy rebel elements” operating around Dumba and their enclaves in the wider Lake Chad area, Tar added.

Farmers have “strayed” from a safe border set by the armed forces for farming and fishing in an area that is a haven for ISWAP and Boko Haram fighters and is riddled with landmines and “prone to night attacks”, the commissioner said.

Governor Zulum warned civilians to stay within designated safe zones that the military has cleared of fighters and ammunition.

He also called for an investigation into the attack by the armed forces.

Lake Chad, which straddles Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad, serves as a hideout for Boko Haram and ISWAP, who use it as a base for launch attacks.

Boko Haram took up arms in 2009 to fight Western education and impose its version of Islamic law.

About 35,000 civilians have been killed and more than two million displaced in the northeastern region, according to the United Nations.