Speed Reads
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.