School massacre by insurgents haunts Nigerian village

Clasping his shaking hands, Malam Ahmad inspects the mangled iron beds and blown out walls of a school where dozens of students were massacred last month in north-eastern Nigeria. "We are still in shock from the horror of the attack," Ahmad said as he guided an Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter around the now deserted school,

where he has taught English since it was established 13 years ago. Suspected members of Islamist extremist group Boko Haram stormed the secondary school in the farming village of Mamudo on July 6 in the middle of the night, opening fire and throwing explosives inside hostels.

By the time the raid was finished, 41 students and one teacher were dead in yet another attack blamed on the insurgents being pursued by a military offensive. Local officials say they will not allow the attack to deter them from educating the school's 3 000 students and the military claims the raid was a "desperate move" by insurgents.

The massacre has however instilled deep fear and led to the temporary closure of all schools in Yobe state, where Mamudo is located, to review security. One student, 17-year-old Bello Sani, said "every night I cry myself to sleep" since the attack. On the night the insurgents arrived, he was sleeping in a classroom that the students transform into a hostel in the evenings.

Hat tip: RoP