{{Nigerian Islamists killed 14 pro-government youth vigilantes in an attack on the northeastern town of Bama, a local official who attended a mass funeral for the victims said on Monday.}}<\/p>\n
Sunday’s attack was one of a spate of deadly assaults by the Boko Haram Islamist sect this month that raises doubts about whether a military offensive against it since May can succeed.<\/p>\n
Local vigilante groups run by youth volunteers have been instrumental in helping the military capture Boko Haram members, but they have also made them a target for the insurgents, drawing civilians further into the conflict.<\/p>\n
Alhaji Baba Shehu Gulumba, chairman of Bama local council, told journalists in the nearest main city of Maiduguri that insurgents disguised as soldiers lured the youths into a trap. Nine others were wounded.<\/p>\n
“They were on guard duty when the sect members dressed in military camouflage came and told them that they were needed at a meeting nearby,” he said. “When they had been lured away from their duty posts they were then attacked and killed.”<\/p>\n
Bama is in Borno state, the center of the insurgency. The town is not far from a mountainous area along the Cameroon border where many Boko Haram fighters are believed to be holding out, after being cleared from other areas by Nigerian forces.<\/p>\n
reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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