Militants kill 11 farmers in Nigeria’s north, raising fresh concerns about food supplies

BY HARUNA UMAR
Associated Press

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Locals and authorities in Nigeria’s Borno state say Islamic rebels have killed 11 farmers and abducted several others during an attack on Sunday that was the latest of several to threaten food supplies in the hard-hit region. One resident said Monday that about six of the victims were from the same family. Such attacks on farmers have become rampant in Borno state where Islamic extremist rebels launched an insurgency in 2009 to fight against Western education and to establish Islamic Shariah law in the region. Analysts feared the attacks could have “significant implications for food security in the region.”