Islamist insurgents killed at least 20 civilians in a northeast Nigerian village, a government-allied vigilante, a government and a security source said on Wednesday.

The attack comes less than a month after Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari began his second term, once again vowing to bring security to a country bedeviled by a slew of conflicts that have killed tens of thousands and show little sign of ending.

The militants struck the village of Ngamngam in Borno state, near the border with Niger, late on Monday and left early Tuesday, the government official said, declining to be identified because they, as well as the security source, were not authorized to speak to media.

The insurgents executed at least 20 locals on their farms, while many of the rest fled to the nearby town of Damasak, the security source said.

Bakura Kachallah, a member of the pro-government vigilante group Civilian Joint Task Force, said he helped evacuate the corpses of 20 or more people.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though the security source said it had been Boko Haram, rather than rival insurgency Islamic State West Africa Province.

Last week, suicide bombers killed at least 30 people in an attack on the northeastern town of Konduga.

REUTERS