Boko Haram slaughter some 2,000 in north-east Nigeria

Boko Haram, the extremist Islamic militant group in Nigeria, has recently launched a series of terror attacks and reportedly massacred more than 2,000 people in north-east Nigeria.

CNN reported on Sunday that the militant Islamist group has destroyed 16 villages and cities in the north-eastern region from Jan. 3 up to recently, estimating around 2,000 civilians have been slaughtered. Boko Haram attacked Baga, a border town close to Chad, and devastated the village by slaughtering the fleeing town residents by running after them via motorcycles or through indiscriminate shooting spree. Most of the victims were reportedly children, elderly people and women who couldn’t hide fast from the attack. Some of the village residents who were hiding in their houses were burned to death.

Boko Haram`s attacks have become graver to the nation since the militant group recently used even a 10-year-old girl to carry a suicide bomb and explode it in a local market, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

Boko Haram have been attacking schools, churches and government buildings in the northern part of Nigeria since 2009. The militant group occupied the north-east region and declared an Islamic Caliphate in August last year. The Muslim militant group has been expanding its power to adjacent countries such as Cameroon, by invading national borders. Boko Haram’s target is to overthrow the Nigerian government and impose a stricter enforcement of "sharia" law across Nigeria. Currently, the nation is divided by Islamic groups in the north and Christianity groups in the south.

The massacre by Boko Haram is likely to affect the presidential election slated on Feb. 14. In the north-east area where 20,000 civilians have been displaced, it is expected that more people give up on voting.