As stated by a military source and a witness on Friday, Boko Haram militants have slit the throats of 12 people in Gwosa town, Borno State, as the army was trying to evacuate civilians from the area. The militants have been driven out of much of the huge swathe of territory they controlled at the start of the year, thanks to a concerted push by troops from Nigeria and neighbouring countries – Chad, Niger and Cameroon. The town of Gwoza, in mountainous terrain, was one of the last places to fall, on March 27, and there remain pockets of Boko Haram activity in the area, security sources say. “Just as troops were trying to evacuate some civilians from the hills so as to safeguard them from a planned air strike. Some Boko Haram members attacked them and slit the throats of 12 people,” a military source stated of Wednesday's attack. A witness, Jonas Musa, stated his parents were among the victims. He stated soldiers had moved one group of people from the hills around Gwoza, but before they could go back for the second, the attackers struck, Reuters reports.
