At least 65 people are dead after the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram is suspected of open firing on mourners at a funeral in the north-eastern Nigerian state of Borno.
Local government chairman Muhammed Bulama said the attack occurred on Saturday. CNN reports that gunmen murdered 22 people at the funeral and shot dozens of others trying to flee the scene.
Boko Haram has not claimed responsibility for the deaths but Bulama said the attack was revenge for the killing of 11 Boko Haram terrorists by the villagers two weeks ago.
At least 10 people were injured in the massacre. Eight of them are critically wounded.
Reuters reports that Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari condemned the attack and ordered the military to find those responsible.
Boko Haram has slaughtered Christians in Nigeria by the thousands and hopes to overthrow Nigeria's government and create an Islamic State. The country is split between being majority Muslim in the north and mostly Christian in the south.
In 2015, Boko Haram was named by the Institute for Economics and Peace the deadliest terror organization in the world. Boko Haram has also terrorized countless Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, Chad, Niger, and Cameroon.
The group regularly raids villages and bombs churches and mosques.
Boko Haram is notorious for kidnapping school children, including the 2014 abduction of nearly 300 girls in the town of Chibok in Borno state.
The United Nations' refugee agency said in January that the violence forced 30,000 Nigerians to flee the country in just two days.
Christians across the region also face attacks from Muslim Fulani herdsman who raid and burn Christian villages.
The Christian persecution watchdog organization Open Doors explains how Christians there face danger and discrimination every day:
"In some northern states, increasing numbers of Christians are dressing like Muslims to make their faith less obvious and reduce the chances of attack. Christian young people in these states are frequently denied access to higher education, and Christians have been asked to give up their faith in order to be given work. Christian women and girls are in danger of being abducted and forced to marry. When Christians are displaced by the violence in the region, they face discrimination when government aid is distributed because of their faith."
© July 2019 CBN News. All Rights Reserved.