By Tunji Braimoh, Abuja<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Borno State Police Command has launched a search for three farmers reported missing following an attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Marte Local Government Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police said the incident occurred on Wednesday evening when the victims were attacked while working on their farms and collecting firewood in the Ala and Musune wards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Borno State Police Public Relations Officer Nahum Daso, 15 people were killed, while others remained unaccounted for as efforts continued to locate the missing farmers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes, there was an attack in Marte. Fifteen people were killed and others are still missing. Efforts are ongoing to determine their whereabouts,\u201d Daso said on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Details of the attack were still limited at the time, with the command indicating it would share further information as more facts emerged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local sources disclosed that 18 farmers were attacked. They said 15 bodies were recovered and buried on Thursday in line with Islamic rites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The victims included young men, married men, and elderly residents who had gone into the bush to farm or gather firewood for their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A community source said the farmers were ambushed, tied up, and executed at close range by the attackers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey were ambushed by terrorists while carrying out their daily work, bound, forced to lie down, and executed at close range,\u201d the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The source added that some victims were decapitated, which made identification difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo far, we have buried 15 out of the 18; we are currently searching for three persons,\u201d the source further stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amnesty International condemned the attack, describing the killings as horrific and a grave breach of international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a statement on Friday, the organisation said the victims were residents who ventured into the surrounding bush to gather firewood to earn a living or to cook for their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It called on the Federal Government to take \u201cimmediate, transparent, and human rights-compliant measures\u201d to protect vulnerable communities in the North-East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As of Friday, the police search for the three missing farmers was still ongoing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Tunji Braimoh, Abuja The Borno State Police Command has launched a search for three farmers reported missing following an attack by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Marte Local Government…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":30229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pages"],"yoast_head":"\n