Nigeria: Dozens dead in suspected extremist attack

In this Thursday, May 8, 2014 file photo, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan speaks during the World Economic Forum on Africa in Abuja, Nigeria. Abubakar Shekau, leader of Nigeria’s Islamic extremist group Boko Haram, denied agreeing to any cease-fire with the government and said more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls all have converted to Islam and been married off. In a new video released late Friday, Oct. 31, 2014. Shekau dashed hopes for a prisoner exchange to get the girls released. Shekau’s announcement further discredits the government of Jonathan, who on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2014 formally announced his candidacy for elections on Feb. 14, 2015 in Africa’s most populous nation. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba, File)

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — An attack by Islamic extremists killed dozens in the northeastern Nigerian village of Doron Baga, a major fishing center on the shores of Lake Chad, witnesses said.

Fisherman Usman Abubakar told the Associated Press that suspected Boko Haram members drove into Doron Baga, in Borno state, “shooting people on sight.”

“I counted 60 bodies with my own eyes,” Abubakar said.

He said he, his wife and three children hid in their home before fleeing to the state capital of Maiduguri about 200 kilometers (124 miles) away.

Abubakar said he is among the many residents who are fleeing Borno and returning to their state of origin, Sokoto in northwestern Nigeria.

Nigerian security official Gideon Jubrin, spokesman for the Borno state police, told AP he has not received any official confirmation of the attack.

Communication in the area are difficult because Boko Haram have destroyed mobile phone masts across the northeastern region, which means attacks often go unreported for days.

Baga was the site of a mass killing in April 2013 where almost 200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and more than 2,000 homes were destroyed in crossfire between the Nigerian troops and Boko Haram.

An attack on Wednesday in Azaya Kura village in Borno left at least 45 people dead when Boko Haram members surged through the village raiding homes and stealing livestock.

At least 1.5 million people have fled their homes since Nigeria declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states in May 2013, according to U.N. figures