Authorities in northeast Nigeria say members of a radical Muslim sect shot and killed five people in attacks amid continuing sectarian violence.
In Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, Col. Victor Ebhaleme said that two people died when members of the Boko Haram sect invaded their homes. In Damaturu in nearby Yobe state, local police commissioner Tanko Lawan said gunmen from the sect shot and killed three people from Chad.
Boko Haram has been blamed for at least 72 deaths in Nigeria since the start of this year alone, according to an Associated Press count. The sect also recently began targeting Christians in Nigeria’s predominantly Muslim north, further inflaming religious divisions in Africa’s most populous nation.