In total, around forty women accused of witchcraft were arrested by the jihadist group.
Le Monde with AFP
Boko Haram activists killed around twenty women in northeast Nigeria, on Sunday November 13 at the France-Presse (AFP) agency of relatives and a survivor.
Forty women, suspected of practicing witchcraft after the sudden death of the children of a commander of the jihadist group, were arrested a week earlier and held in the village of Ahraza, near the city of Gwoza, in The state of the Borno, on the orders of the jihadist chief Ali Guyile, according to these sources.
“[Ali Guyile] said he was going to investigate our involvement in the death of his children and give an appropriate punishment if we were recognized as guilty,” said Talkwe Linbe, who fled to the regional capital, Maiduguri . “Thursday, he ordered that fourteen of us were shot dead. I was lucky not to be part of it and my boyfriend, among the men who kept us, helped me escape the same Night, “added the 67 -year -old woman.
recurring accusations
The accusations of witchcraft are not uncommon in Nigeria, despite the religious conservatism of the country, divided between a predominantly Muslim North and a predominantly Christian South. Saturday, the day M Me Linbe arrived in Maiduguri, twelve other women were massacred, according to residents.
“I received a call from Gwoza informing me that my mother, two aunts and nine other women were massacred [Saturday] on the orders of Ali Guyile, who accused them of being witches who killed his Three children, “said Abdullahi Gyya, who lives in Maiduguri.
Tijjani Usman, a maiduguri resident from Gwoza, confirmed this information on the basis of calls he received from his relations in Gwoza. The fate of other detained women is currently unknown.
Contacted, the Nigerian army did not respond immediately, but security sources said they were led to an investigation. The Borno State Women’s Affairs Commissioner told AFP that she had not heard of the incident, but that she would look at the issue.
Nigerian security forces are struggling to fight against Boko Haram and the jihadists affiliated to the Islamic State group, whose insurgency has left more than 40,000 dead and 2 million displaced since 2009.