Boko Haram landmines in Nigeria killed at least 162 in two years

Hundreds of people have been killed or maimed by landmines in north-east Nigeria, research shows.

Mines laid by Boko Haram, the extremist group that has waged a deadly insurgency in the Lake Chad region, killed 162 people in two years and wounded 277 more, according to the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), a landmine clearance charity.

Casualties rose from 12 per month in 2016 to 19 per month in 2017-18, making Nigeria’s casualty rate from mines the eighth highest in the world.

After nine years of the insurgency, locally produced landmines, unexploded bombs and improvised explosive devices are scattered across the north-east.