The Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has released a video of how it executed 11 captives, most of whom were Christians, on Christmas day.
The terrorists said the captives were executed to avenge the killings of their leaders in Syria, adding that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), also failed to negotiate their release.
In a recent video published by conflict and terrorism reporter, Ahmad Salkida, 13 captives were seen begging President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria to come to their rescue.
According to Salkida, ten of the victims in the video were Christians, while the remaining three were Muslims.
But in the execution video released by ISWAP, the terrorists claimed they spared the lives of two out of 13 people that appeared in the earlier video.
It was gathered that the two, whose lives were spared are Muslims, while others, most of whom are Christians were executed.
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Explaining the reason for the execution, ISWAP said:
“We killed them as a revenge for the killings of our leaders, including Abu bakr al-Baghdadi and Abul-Hasan Al-Muhajir in Iraq and Syria.”
Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary General, has commiserated with the federal government and Nigerians over the killings of the civilians.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday, Guterres expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
“The Secretary General is deeply concerned about reports that civilians have been executed, and others abducted, by armed group in northern Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. He expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and reiterates the solidarity of the United Nations with the people and Government of Nigeria,” he said.
Recall that ISWAP recently executed all the male humanitarian workers of Action Against Hunger, abducted in July 2019.
The terrorist group said the execution of the aid workers was as a result of government’s insincerity and lack of respect for timeline. (Newsbreak)