MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — At least 11 people have been reported killed following coordinated attacks by suspected jihadist militants in several villages across northern Nigeria’s Borno State on Saturday.
According to a local anti-jihadist militia group operating in Borno, seven of the victims were targeted and killed while planting crops in their fields. Reports indicate that another four farmers were killed in a separate attack near the Lake Chad basin region.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the ongoing conflict risks completely crippling the region's agricultural sector, cautioning that a collapse in local farming activities will drastically exacerbate widespread poverty and food insecurity among vulnerable communities in the area.