While I have no deep affection for Christianity, at least Christ was the peacenik hippie type, whereas Mohammed was a highway robber and warlord. You could say that Boko Haram and its fellow Islamist thugs only follow in their blessed prophet’s footsteps.

Fighting between Nigeria ‘s military and Islamist extremists killed at least 185 people in a fishing community in the nation’s far northeast, officials said on Sunday.

The fighting in Baga began Friday and lasted for hours, sending people fleeing into the arid scrublands surrounding the community on Lake Chad. The unrest saw insurgents fire rocket-propelled grenades and soldiers spray machine-gun fire into neighbourhoods filled with civilians.

By Sunday, when government officials felt safe enough to see the destruction, homes, businesses and vehicles were burned throughout the area.

The assault marks a significant escalation in the long running insurgency Nigeria faces in its predominantly Muslim north, with extremists mounting a coordinated assault on soldiers using military-grade weaponry.