Boko Haram attack kills 8 in northeast Nigeria

By Olarewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria

At least eight people were killed in a Boko Haram attack on a village near a refugee camp in the outskirts of the northeastern city of Maiduguri, officials said Thursday.

Bashir Garga, coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency, said in a statement the insurgents shot dead six persons at Kofa village and two others in the camp.

Motorcycle riding assailants opened fire at the villagers on Wednesday night.

"Villagers who ran into the bush for safety have returned to their homes while the Borno State Fire Service has contained the inferno. The injured have been treated in the camp clinic while serious cases were evacuated to hospitals in Maiduguri. An assessment team is on site to provide relief assistance to those affected," he added.

Recent months have offered some respite in violence in northeast Borno State, the birthplace of Boko Haram.

The insurgency has entered year.