AFRICA - Boko Haram Jihadists kill 53 in three days

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AFP has reported that Boko Haram jihadists have killed 53 soldiers and farmers in three days of attacks in north-eastern Nigeria, in a new show of force ahead of February elections in the West African country, despite the government's insistence that Boko Haram is near defeat, the group has recently carried out a string of major attacks on military and civilian targets.

President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking re-election in February, faces widespread criticism over his security record as soldiers based in the northeast regularly complain of fatigue and insufficient supplies of food and arms.

The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram splinter group, killed at least 44 soldiers in attacks on three military bases at the weekend, of those, at least 43 were killed on Sunday in Metele, a remote village near the border with Niger, according to confidential sources.