Monday’s attacks killed 27 fishermen in Mafa district and six loggers in Dikwa district, according to an anti-jihadist militia and a fishermen union official in the region.
“The fishermen were intercepted by Boko Haram fighters on motorcycles two kilometres from Mafa town,” Babakura Kolo, an anti-jihadist militia assisting the military said.
“All the 27 fishermen were shot dead,” Kolo said.
They were returning with a catch of lungfish from a dried up pond, said Abdullahi Sani, an official of a fishermen’s union in the state capital Maiduguri, 52 kilometres (32 miles) away.
Sani gave the same figure of 27.
Earlier, six loggers were shot dead by Boko Haram fighters while collecting firewood in the bush outside Malam Maja village in nearby Dikwa district, Kolo said.
They were displaced by jihadist violence and were living in makeshift camps in Dikwa town, 90 kilometres from Maiduguri, Kolo said.
Boko Haram and the rival Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have increasing targeted loggers, farmers, fishermen, herders and metal scrap collectors in the region, accusing them of spying on them and passing on information to the military.
Two weeks ago, Boko Haram fighters shot dead 18 loggers who had gone into the bush outside Abaram village in Borno state’s Bama district, according to anti-jihadist militia and residents.
Tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced in the 17-year-old insurgency.
Most of the displaced live in makeshift camps, relying on food handouts from international charities.
But with the drying up of aid due to funding cuts, the displaced are left to fend for themselves.
