At least 200 villagers killed by Boko Haram militants

BBC News/Screenshot

At least 200 villagers killed by Boko Haram militants
(Image credit: BBC News/Screenshot)

Despite an advance warning, Boko Haram militants dressed as soldiers killed at least 200 civilians across three communities in northeastern Nigeria on Monday. A community leader who witnessed the killings said residents pleaded for the military to protect the area of Borno after they heard the violent group was plotting the slaughters, but help was never sent.

Since roads in the remote area are dangerous and phone connections are poor, it took nearly four days for news to arrive in Maiduguri, the provincial capital. Monday's death toll is "among the highest" since Boko Haram, a Nigerian Islamic militant group, started terrorizing villages in its 5-year-old insurgency.

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.