Spreading violence in Nigeria, militant group Boko Haram on Friday beheaded 11 of its own fighters in northeastern Nigeria, an official representing witnesses to the killings said. The 11 militants were executed because they had left a Boko Haram camp in Sambisa Forest and wanted to surrender to the government, said Mahmud Babagana from the National Union of Road Transport Workers, members of which were witnesses to the murders. "The truth is that many of these guys are tired of killing and are beginning to repent. But [Boko Haram] won't let them do that," he added. The killings took place in Miringa village in Borno state. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari condemned Boko Haram attacks saying "inhuman and barbaric."
Meanwhile, two female suicide bombers killed 11 people on Thursday on a roadside in Borno state, according to the website Sahara Reporters. The Thursday killings followed those of about 150 people in Borno villages earlier in the week. "I'm finished, my world has crumbled," said Bukar Baba Ibrahim from the village of Kukawa, where about 100 people were slaughtered in mosques and in their homes. Ibrahim said he had lost his three children, his father, six siblings and his uncle in the attack. "Being alive does not have any meaning to me now. I have lost all my people and I am all alone, no relatives, no house, because they burned our house with my people inside it. It would have been better if I had not survived," he said.
European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini condemned the killings and expressed confidence that "the Nigerian authorities will continue to fight terrorism with the utmost determination and urgency, respecting rules for engagement."
Earlier this week, a government official said 47 former Boko Haram members had joined a new program allowing former terrorists to become reintegrated into society. Since 2009, Boko Haram has killed more than 10,000 people in northern Nigeria.
Since Boko Haram started its deadly assault in 2009, at least 15,000 people have been killed in violent attacks on civilian towns. More than 7,300 were killed in 2014 alone. Boko Haram's brutal attacks have increased in recent months, with at least 1,000 civilians having been killed since the beginning of this year, underscoring gross violation of human rights by Boko Haram according to the U.N. figures. Due to increasing militant group attacks, Nigeria became the fourth deadliest country in the world, according to the 2014 figures released by a new think tank, Project for the Study of the 21st Century (PS21). Compared to the previous year, the number of deaths almost tripled after the conflict with militant group Boko Haram intensified in the northern part of the country. The growing radicalization in the northern states is seen as a crucial threat to both the future of Nigeria and global security. There is growing concern that the pattern of radicalization could spread to other areas in the region.
