Many killed as Boko Haram opens fire on sleeping students

KANO (AFP) – Boko Haram gunmen on
Sunday stormed a college dormitory in
Nigeria's conflict-scarred northeast,
firing on students as they slept, the
military told AFP, in the latest such
attack blamed on the Islamist
insurgents.
Security forces were at the scene but
details on the number of dead and
injured were not yet available, area
military spokesman Lazarus Eli said.
The early morning assault targeted the
College of Agriculture in the town of
Gujba in Yobe state, Eli said.
It was carried out by "Boko Haram
terrorists who went into the school and
opened fire on students," while they
were sleeping, he added.
A police source, who requested
anonymity, told AFP that initial reports
indicated the death toll could be high
but he was not prepared to discuss
figures.
Gujba is roughly 30 kilometres (18
miles) from the state capital of
Damaturu.
Yobe has seen a series of brutal attacks
targeting students in recent months, all
blamed on Boko Haram.
The worst occurred in July in the town of
Mamudo, where the Islamists threw
explosives and sprayed gunfire into
dormitories in the middle of the night,
killing 41 students.
The name Boko Haram means 'Western
education is forbidden' and the group
has repeatedly attacked schools,
universities and colleges during its four-
year insurgency.
The military has described the spate of
recent school attacks as a sign of
desperation by the Islamists, claiming
they only have the capacity to hit soft
targets.
The defence ministry has said that an
offensive launched against Boko Haram
in mid-May has decimated the group
and scattered their fighters across
remote parts of the northeast.
While many of the recent attacks have
occurred in more remote areas, often
targeting defenceless civilians, the
unchecked killing has cast doubt on the
success of the military's campaign.
The northeast remains under a state of
emergency imposed on May 14.
Scores have been killed this month,
including in the northeastern town of
Benisheik in Borno state, where at least
142 people were slaughtered by
presumed Boko Haram fighters who
came disguised as soldiers, set up
checkpoints and fired on motorists and
bystanders.
Some of the recent violence has
targeted vigilante groups which have
formed to help the military.
Boko Haram has said it is fighting to
create an Islamic state in Nigeria's
mainly Muslim north, but the group is
believed to made up of different
factions with varying aims.
A toll earlier this year said the conflict is
estimated to have cost more than 3,600
lives, including killings by the security
forces. The current figure is likely much
higher.
Nigeria is Africa's most populous
country and top oil producer