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Nigerian Witnesses Link Militants to At Least 33 More Killings in Northeast


Witnesses and local authorities in northeastern Nigeria say suspected Boko Haram militants have killed at least 33 people and firebombed a theological college in Adamawa state.

The military, which regularly understates witness death tolls, said six assailants were killed in the attacks, along with one soldier and three civilians in three attacks..

Thursday's attacks near the Cameroon border came just one day after witnesses reported nearly 60 students killed at the Federal Government College in nearby Yobe state. Local reports said students at the federal college were attacked in their sleep and killed as they tried to flee burning dormitories.

The Associated Press quoted what it described as an angry Yobe Governor Murtala Hammanyero Nyako as saying he suspects collusion between government forces and the militant group.



"Either this is controlled by unknown fellows, or unknown Boko Haram strategic commanders in the [government] defense system, or it is being stage-managed," he said. Referring to an attack last year on a nearby government air base, Hammanyero alleged that soldiers in the vicinity did not respond until militants had destroyed all five aircraft at the facility.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states in June 2013. But he is facing mounting criticism as the attacks have continued since then.

Fighters from Boko Haram, a name meaning "Western education is a sin," have carried out similar attacks on schools, government facilities and other targets, since launching a 2009 uprising against the government. The group is blamed for thousands of deaths.
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