The killings happened in three incidents across Nigeria and Chad: one in the northern Nigerian village of Dalori and two in Chad

At least 50 people were feared killed when Boko Haram fighters armed with guns and explosives attacked a village in north-eastern Nigeria. Then three more were killed and 56 wounded in two suicide attacks in Chad, a local security official said.

A spokesman for the Nigerian army said Boko Haram fighters attacked Dalori, which is around 12km (seven miles) from the northern city of Maiduguri, late on Saturday, burning down the village and sending residents fleeing into the bush.

The attack was swiftly condemned by the European Union, which said it was committed to supporting regional African states in the fight against such extremist groups.

Residents and an aid worker said at least 50 people were killed in the Dalori assault, which took place after evening prayers in the mostly Muslim region. Colonel Mustapha Anka, a spokesperson for the army, said the assailants arrived “in two cars and on motorcycles, they opened fire then set light to homes.” Three female suicide bombers who had initially tried to mingle with the villagers “were intercepted, then blew themselves up,” he said.

The assailants also tried to penetrate a camp for people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency just outside the village but were repelled by troops. Villagers said they fled into the bush when the assailants entered Dalori.

“We were seated outside our home shortly after the Isha prayer when we heard gunshots and within a few minutes the invaders had arrived,” said Malam Masa Dalori, a community leader.

“They came in Golf saloon cars and began to shoot sporadically. Many people ran to the bush including myself. When we came back in the morning the entire community had been razed. At least 50 people were killed, and there are many people wounded.”

Mallam Hassan, another villager, gave a similar account. “I lost an uncle in the attack. But I thank God I escaped with my children,” he said. An aid worker who did not want to be named, also put the number of dead at more than 50, saying the bodies had been taken to hospital.

Maiduguri, about 90 miles from the southern shores of Lake Chad, has a population of 2.6 million, more than half of whom are refugees. Known for being the birthplace of the Boko Haram movement, Maiduguri has been hit by several attacks in recent months as militants have tried to retake the city from which they were pushed three years ago.

In the Lake Chad region, which borders Nigeria as well as Chad, Cameroon and Niger, suicide bombers struck two Chadian villages killing three people, a local security official said.



In the first attack, a bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up in Guie village, killing one person and injuring 32, while the second attack in the village of Miterine killed two and wounded 24, he said.

Nigeria, Chad, Benin, Niger and Cameroon have formed a coalition to fight Boko Haram, comprising 8,700 soldiers, police and civilians. In response Boko Haram has launched cross-border attacks from northern Nigeria on neighbouring countries.

The EU issued a statement condemning the attacks and reiterated the bloc’s commitment to provide €50m (£38m) “to assist countries of the region to fight terrorism”. “The EU remains committed to providing a comprehensive range of political, development and humanitarian support to Nigeria and the region in tackling this threat and in ensuring the sound development of the region,” it said.

Despite claims late last year by President Muhammadu Buhari that Nigeria had “technically” won the war against Boko Haram, the group has kept up a string of attacks. The group, which seeks a hardline Islamic state in northern Nigeria, has killed around 17,000 people and forced more than 2.6 million to flee their homes since 2009.