Boko Haram killed 76 farmers in Nigeria

The Boko Haram jihadi group on Tuesday claimed
responsibility for a brutal massacre of farmworkers in northeast Nigeria over
the weekend as the death toll rose to 76.
The grim search for bodies continues after gunmen on
motorbikes attacked the area outside Borno state's capital, Maiduguri, on
Saturday, slaughtering dozens of laborers in rice fields near the village of
Zabarmari.
It was initially unclear which Boko Haram faction
was behind the assault, but the main group loyal to shadowy leader Abubakar
Shekau said in a video Tuesday it was "responsible for what happened
around Maiduguri in recent days... especially in Zabarmari."
Shekau, in a three-minute video, said his group
killed 78 farmers because "the farmers arrested and handed one of its
brothers to the Nigerian Army."
Borno state Information Commissioner Babakura Abba
Jatau, meanwhile, said the death toll had risen from 70 to 76.
"Forty-three bodies were buried on Sunday and
another 33 were buried on Monday," he told the AFP news agency, adding
that the death toll could rise further.
The Boko Haram video appeared to confirm reports
that the attack was waged to seek revenge on villagers for seizing the group's
fighters and handing them over to the authorities.
"You thought you would apprehend our brethren
and hand him over to the military and live in peace?" a Boko Haram
jihadist said in the video.
On Tuesday, local teams continued the search for
bodies, plowing through the expansive marshland on foot, trudging behind
tractors.
"It is a tiring job because regular vehicles
can't move in the difficult terrain because they will definitely get
stuck," said Abdullahi Umar, a member of the search team.
He described the search as "dangerous"
because Boko Haram insurgents operate in the area, which has footpaths that
link up to the group's Sambisa forest enclave.
At least 36,000 people have been killed and 2
million displaced since Boko Haram launched its jihadi insurgency in northeast
Nigeria in 2009.
Both groups have been blamed for increasing attacks
on civilians they accuse of spying for the army and pro-government militia.
The jihadist violence has also spread into
neighboring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition
to fight the insurgents.