Boko Haram kills 56 in remote part of Borno State

Islamic extremist group Boko Haram killed 56 villagers in a remote area, the governor of Borno State of the region said, as the government warned that the extremists are trying to extend their violent campaign. Gov. Kashim Shettima confirmed the attack in Baanu village during a meeting with the parents of the 219 girls abducted from a school in the region by the extremists last year. Thursday marked 500 days of captivity of the girls from a school in Chibok. "I want us all to understand that the Boko Haram crisis is a calamity that has befallen us, as the insurgents do not discriminate whether somebody is Christian or Muslim, neither do they have any tribal sympathy or affiliations. Just yesterday they killed 56 people in Baanu village of Nganzai local government, as I am speaking to you their corpses are still littered on the street of the village because virtually everyone in the village had to run for their lives". He did not provide further details of the attack. Fleeing residents of Baanu village said they were attacked by Boko Haram on Friday night. "We returned back to the village in the morning after spending the night in the bush, we saw corpses in the streets of the village," said farmer Mustapha Alibe.