Mamudo school massacre

Last updated

Yobe State school shooting
Part of the Boko Haram insurgency
LocationMamudo, Yobe State, Nigeria
Date6 July 2013
TargetGovernment Secondary School
Attack type
 Arson, mass murder, mass shooting, school shooting, Islamic terrorism
Deaths42
Injured6+
Perpetrators Boko Haram

On 6 July 2013, Boko Haram insurgents attacked the Government Secondary School in the village of Mamudo in Yobe State, Nigeria and killed at least 42 people. Most of the dead were students, though some staff members were also killed. [1]

Contents

Background

Boko Haram was founded in 2002 to seek the establishment of an Islamic state and fight against the Westernization of Nigeria, which the group says is the root cause of criminal behaviour in that country. [2] From 2009 to 2013, violence linked to the Boko Haram insurgency resulted in 3,600 deaths, the victims including 1,600 civilians. [1] [3] In mid-May 2013, Nigeria declared a state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe States aiming to end the Boko Haram insurgency. [1] The resulting crackdown has led to the capture or killing of hundreds of Boko Haram members, with the remainder retreating to mountainous areas from which they increasingly targeted civilians. [3]

Since 2010, Boko Haram has targeted schools, killing hundreds of students. A spokesperson said such attacks would continue as long as government soldiers continued to interfere with traditional Koran-based education. More than 10,000 children are no longer able to attend school due to attacks by Boko Haram. [2] Roughly 20,000 people fled Yobe State to Cameroon during June 2013 to escape the violence. [3]

In June 2013, Nigerian soldiers beat students at a Koran-based school, angering Boko Haram members. [2] An attack on 16 June by Boko Haram militants killed seven children, two teachers, two soldiers, and two militants. The next day, militants killed nine students who were taking exams. On 4 July, gunmen attacked and killed a school headmaster and his family. [3]

Mamudo is 5 km (3.1 mi) from Potiskum, Yobe State's largest city. Boko Haram have carried out several major attacks there. [1]

Attack

Before dawn on 6 July 2013, gunmen attacked a secondary school in Mamudo, Yobe State, northeastern Nigeria, where they killed at least 42 people. [2] A local eyewitness described the situation: "It was a gory sight...There were 42 bodies; most of them were students. Some of them had parts of their bodies blown off and badly burnt while others had gunshot wounds." [1] Most of the dead were students, with a few staff members and a teacher also killed. [1] [2] Some were burned alive while others died of gunshot wounds. At the morgue, parents struggled to identify their children, as many bodies were burned beyond recognition. [3] Survivors were taken to a nearby clinic, guarded by the Nigerian army. [2]

According to survivors, the gunmen gathered the victims in a central location and then began shooting and throwing explosives. [1] The assailants also brought fuel, which they used to set the school on fire. [2] Six students who escaped were found hiding in the bushes with gunshot wounds and taken to the hospital. [1] More than 100 others were missing as of 6 July. [2]

Reactions

On 7 July, Yobe State governor Ibrahim Gaidam called the attackers cold-blooded murderers and "devoid of any shred of humanity". He ordered all secondary schools in the state to close until September, the start of the new academic year. He also requested that the national government end the mobile phone blackout in the state, saying the lack of mobile service prevented citizens from alerting authorities of suspicious people in the area prior to the attack. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damaturu</span> Capital city of Yobe State, Nigeria

Damaturu is a Local Government Area and the capital city of Yobe State in northern Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Damaturu Emirate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Boko Haram uprising</span> Part of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria

The 2009 Boko Haram uprising was a conflict between Boko Haram, a militant Islamist group, and Nigerian security forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boko Haram</span> Central-West African jihadist terrorist organization

Boko Haram, officially known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād, is an Islamist jihadist organization based in northeastern Nigeria, which is also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group split, resulting in the emergence of a hostile faction known as the Islamic State's West Africa Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boko Haram insurgency</span> Terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Boko Haram insurgency began in July 2009, when the militant Islamist and jihadist rebel group Boko Haram started an armed rebellion against the government of Nigeria. The conflict is taking place within the context of long-standing issues of religious violence between Nigeria's Muslim and Christian communities, and the insurgents' ultimate aim is to establish an Islamic state in the region.

A series of assaults on businesses occurred in northeastern Nigeria on 5 and 6 January 2012, followed by attacks on police stations and government offices in the north on 20 January. Over 180 people were killed.

On 29 September 2013, gunmen from Boko Haram entered the male dormitory in the College of Agriculture in Gujba, Yobe State, Nigeria, killing forty-four students and teachers.

Timeline of the Boko Haram insurgency is the chronology of the Boko Haram insurgency, an ongoing armed conflict between Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram and the Nigerian government. Boko Haram have carried out many attacks against the military, police and civilians since 2009, mostly in Nigeria. The low-intensity conflict is centred on Borno State. It peaked in the mid-2010s, when Boko Haram extended their insurgency into Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

The Konduga massacre took place in Konduga, Borno State, Nigeria on 11 February 2014. The massacre was conducted by Boko Haram Islamists against Christian villagers. At least 62 people were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">February 2014 Buni Yadi massacre</span> Massacre in Yobe State, Nigeria

On February 25, 2014, fifty-nine boys were killed at the Federal Government College of Buni Yadi in Yobe State, Nigeria. The twenty-four buildings of the school were also burned down as a result of the attack. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but according to media and local officials the Islamist militants Boko Haram are suspected to be behind the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping</span> Kidnapping of female students in Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria

On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 mostly Christian female students aged from 16 to 18 were kidnapped by the Islamic terrorist group called Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School at the town of Chibok in Borno State, Nigeria. Prior to the raid, the school had been closed for four weeks due to deteriorating security conditions, but the girls were in attendance in order to take final exams in physics.

From 20 to 23 June 2014, a series of attacks occurred in Borno State, Nigeria. 91 women and children were kidnapped in the attacks and more than 70 people were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June 2014 Kaduna and Abuja attacks</span>

Between 23 and 25 June 2014, a series of attacks occurred in central Nigeria. On 23–24 June, gunmen attacked a number of villages in Kaduna State, killing around 150 people. The attack was blamed on Fulani tribesmen. On 25 June 2014, a bomb exploded at the Emab Plaza in the national capital of Abuja, killing at least 21 people. In response to the bombing, the Nigerian military raided two militants camps on 26 June, killing more than 100 people.

The May 2014 Buni Yadi attack was a terrorist attack that occurred on 27 May 2014 in the town of Buni Yadi, Yobe State, Nigeria. Some 49 security personnel and 9 civilians were killed.

The following lists events from 2014 in Nigeria.

The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damaturu prison break</span> Prison break in Nigeria suspected to be orchestrated by Boko Haram

The Damaturu prison break was an attack on the Jimeta prison at Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State in the northeastern Nigeria by 40 gunmen suspected to be members of the terrorist group Boko Haram. The attack is thought to have been a bid to rescue imprisoned members of Boko Haram. About 40 prisoners escaped from the prison; seven inmates and one prison warden died. The escaped prisoners were largely members of the insurgent.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Nigeria.

The following lists events that happened during 2012 in Nigeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 West African offensive</span> Coalition offensive against Boko Haram

Starting in late January 2015, a coalition of West African troops launched an offensive against the Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria.

On 23 March 2020, Islamists carried out massacres of soldiers in Chad and Nigeria.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Nigeria school attack claims 42 lives". The Australian . AFP. 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 McElroy, Damien (6 July 2013). "Extremist attack in Nigeria kills 42 at boarding school". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "School attack kills 30 in northeast Nigeria". Newsday. AP. 6 June 2013. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  4. ↑ "Nigeria school massacre: Yobe secondary schools closed". BBC News. 7 July 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2013.

11°41′21″N11°10′52″E / 11.68917°N 11.18111°E / 11.68917; 11.18111

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.