20 killed in Nigeria gunmen attacks

At least 20 people have been confirmed killed in attacks launched by gunmen in two Nigerian villages, local media reported on Wednesday, quoting witnesses and security sources. Early Wednesday, unknown gunmen attacked Wala Village, located some 130 km from Maiduguri, capital of the northeastern state of Borno, and killed not less than 18 people, local online newspaper Premium Times reported. A local resident and government official said other residents were injured in the attack at Wala Village of Gwoza local government area of the northern state. A security officer, who declined to be mentioned, also confirmed the attack, saying the Department of State Security (DSS) had been officially informed of the incident. The security source said late Tuesday, in a separate incident, another set of gunmen had attacked Sabon-Kasuawa, a village in Hawul local government area of the same state, to unleash terror. According to the source, the attackers shot dead two people, a local chief and his palace guard, in the incident. "They simply walked right into the palace of the monarch and shot him in his bedroom. And on their way out, they also shot at his guard before fleeing away into the dark night," said Hyeidi Bwala, a politician in the local government district who witnessed the incident. Sharing a boundary with Cameroon in its south and the Sambisa Forest, which serves as hideout for Boko Haram fighters in its north, Gwoza local government, a rocky countryside of Borno, with huge mountains, has witnessed many deadly attacks recently. The area is 130 km away from Chibok, another local government which witnessed the kidnapping of more than 100 teenage girls on Monday by suspected Boko Haram members. The sect seeks to enshrine the Islamic Sharia law in the Nigerian Constitution, thereby declaring war on Western education, government, media and religious institutions. Since the wake of its insurgency in 2009, the Boko Haram, which is a major security threat in Nigeria, has reportedly killed more than 3000 people, including women and children.