Boko Haram at the weekend released a video
showing gunmen mowing down civilians lying face
down in a dormitory , and a leader saying they are
being killed because they are “ infidels ” or non-
believers .
There are so many bodies the gunmen have difficulty
stepping to reach bodies still twitching with life.
Most appear to be adult men.
“ We have made sure the floor of this hall is turned
red with blood , and this is how it is going to be in
all future attacks and arrests of infidels , ” the group
leader says in a message . “ From now , killing,
slaughtering , destructions and bombing will be our
religious duty anywhere we invade . ”
The video was released on Saturday , two days after
fleeing villagers reported that the extremists are
rounding up elderly people and killing them in two
schools in Gwoza , in northeast Nigeria .
The setting of the latest video appears to be a
school , a long dormitory furnished with bunk beds
which the leader says is in Bama , a town 40 miles
north of Gwoza . Students and schools are frequently
targeted by Boko Haram, which means “ Western
education is sinful ” in the Hausa language .
Previously , the militants had told residents of villages
and towns that they would kill only enemies and
wanted people to live peacefully in the area they
have dubbed an Islamic caliphate , a large swath
along Nigeria ’ s northeastern border with Cameroon
that they have controlled for more than three
months .
In the video , the leader notes that the prophet
Mohammed advised prisoners should be held, not
killed , but says “ we felt this is not the right time for
us to keep prisoners ; that is why we will continue to
see that the grounds are crimsoned with the flowing
blood of prisoners ” .
He says some of those killed may call themselves
Muslims , but are considered infidels by Boko Haram ,
a Sunni Jihadi group that imposes strict Shariah law .
Thousands of people have been killed and about 1 . 6
million driven from their homes in the five -year
insurgency that is spilling across borders into
Cameroon , Chad and Niger .
Last week , extremists killed 35 people and
kidnapped at least 185, fleeing residents
said Thursday of an attack near the town where
nearly 300 schoolgirls were taken hostage in April .
Last month, an official in Chibok said the extremists
forced thousands of residents to flee the town .
The attack on Gumburi happened one week ago ,
said a security official and a local government
officer , who insisted on anonymity because they
were not authorised to speak to the press . The news
took days to emerge because the militants have
destroyed communications towers in the area .
Gumburi is 12 miles from Chibok , the northeastern
town where extremists kidnapped 276 schoolgirls in
April . Dozens of the students escaped but 219
remain missing .
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