Islamic militants kill 40 farmers

MAIDGURI, Nigeria — Suspected members of the Islamic militant group Boko Haram killed at least 40 farmers while they were harvesting crops in Nigeria’s northern Borno State, officials said.

The attack took place Saturday in a rice field in Garin Kwashebe, a Borno community known for rice farming, on the day residents of the state were casting votes for the first time in 13 years to elect local government councils.

The farmers were reportedly rounded up and summarily killed by armed insurgents.

Malam Zabarmari, a leader of a rice farmers association in Borno state, confirmed the massacre to the Associated Press.

“The farmers were attacked at the Garin Kwashebe rice field in Zabarmari community, and according to reports reaching us since afternoon, about 40 of them were killed,” he said, adding that it likely could be up to 60 people killed.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said the government had given support to the armed forces “to take all necessary steps to protect the country’s population and its territory.”

Boko Haram and a breakaway faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province, are both active in the region. Boko Haram’s more than decadelong insurgency has left thousands dead and displaced tens of thousands. Officials say Boko Haram members often force villagers to pay illegal taxes by taking their livestock or crops. But over time, some villagers have begun to resist the extortion.

A member of the House of Representatives, Ahmed Satomi, who represents the Jere Federal constituency of Borno, said the farmers in Garin Kwashebe were attacked because they had disarmed and arrested a Boko Haram gunman on Friday who had been tormenting them.