MAIDUGURI (Reuters) – Islamist militants in northeast Nigeria have executed four aid workers and a private security guard, according to a video seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
International Rescue Committee and Action Against Hunger, both aid groups, confirmed the killing of their colleagues and other humanitarian workers in statements condemning the executions.
Last month, the militants released a video in which the hostages identified themselves.
The execution underscores the increasing risk for aid workers in northeast Nigeria, where a decade-long conflict with Boko Haram and Islamic State’s regional ally has fuelled one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
“You that are working for infidel organisations, you are working to deliver their mandate but they do not care about your plight,” said a man wearing a balaclava in the video, with the five captives wearing red blindfolds and kneeling in a row in front of him.
“This is why whenever we abduct you, those organisations do not show any form of concern,” he said.
When the man finished his speech, he and four other men in balaclavas and military fatigues shot the captives.
Since Nigeria’s military withdrew into garrison towns they call “super camps”, the northeast has become deadlier for many civilians, leaving previously safe major roads, much of the countryside and smaller towns unprotected.
(Reporting by Maiduguri Newsroom; Additional reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by Leslie Adler)
