Hotoro, Nigeria (CNN) -- Residents of three villages in northeastern Nigeria took security into their own hands this week, repelling attacks by Boko Haram insurgents and killing more than 200 of them, residents and officials said.
Hundreds of Boko Haram fighters stormed the villages of Menari, Tsangayari and Garawa in the ethnic Shuwa-dominated Kalabalge District on Tuesday. Boko Haram -- the group responsible for the kidnapping of nearly 300 schoolgirls from the same region -- was met with stiff resistance as locals put up a fierce fight, witnesses said.
A month has passed since the girls were kidnapped, and the Nigerian government has been accused of not acting swiftly or efficiently enough to protect villages in the region threatened by Boko Haram.
In the three villages attacked Tuesday, gunmen arrived in dozens of all-terrain vans, armored tanks and motorcycles, but villagers quickly mobilized and engaged the attackers in a prolonged battle.
(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140514103000-pkg-elbagir-stolen-education-00010116-story-body.jpg)Nigeria: A stolen education (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140513143353-shehu-sani-byline-story-body.jpg)Boko Haram negotiator shares insights (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512094252-nigeria-girls-boko-haram-story-body.jpg)Nigeria: 54 girls ID'd in Boko Haram tape (http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/mosaic/bttn_close.gif) People march in Lagos, Nigeria, on Monday, May 12, to demand the release of schoolgirls kidnapped from Chibok last month. The abduction of nearly 300 female students who remain captives of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram has attracted mounting national and international outrage. Catholic faithful take Holy Communion and pray for the safety of the kidnapped schoolgirls in a morning Mass in their honor in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, on Sunday, May 11. Catholic faithful attend a morning Mass in honor of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 11. Catholics nuns pray during a morning Mass in honor of the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls, in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 11. A woman attends a demonstration Tuesday, May 6, that called for the Nigerian government to rescue nearly 300 schoolgirls who were kidnapped last month in Chibok, Nigeria. The girls were taken by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram. Abuja Hosea Sambido, a leader in the Chibok community, speaks during a rally in Abuja, Nigeria, on May 6, pressing for the release of the abducted girls. Brig. Gen. Chris Olukolade, Nigeria's top military spokesman, speaks to people at a demonstration on May 6. Women march Monday, May 5, in Chibok. People rally in Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday, May 1. Police stand guard during a demonstration in Lagos on May 1. Protesters take part in a "million woman march" on Wednesday, April 30, in Abuja. Obiageli Ezekwesili, former Nigerian education minister and vice president of the World Bank's Africa division, leads a march of women in Abuja on April 30. A woman cries out during a demonstration Tuesday, April 29, in Abuja with other mothers whose daughters have been kidnapped. A man weeps as he joins parents of the kidnapped girls during a meeting with the Borno state governor in Chibok on Tuesday, April 22. Mothers weep during a meeting with the Borno state governor on April 22 in Chibok. Four female students who were abducted by gunmen and reunited with their families walk in Chibok on Monday, April 21. Borno state governor Kashim Shettima, center, visits the Chibok school on April 21. Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls Nigerians protest over kidnapped schoolgirls HIDE CAPTION << < (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512095958-01-nigeria-0512-topics.jpg) 1 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511103218-01-nigeria-girls-0511-topics.jpg) 2 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511103509-02-nigeria-girls-0511-topics.jpg) 3 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140511103741-03-nigeria-girls-0511-topics.jpg) 4 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506185644-01-nigerian-kidnapping-protest-0506-topics.jpg) 5 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140507123348-01-nigeria-0507-topics.jpg) 6 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506185823-02-nigerian-kidnapping-protest-0506-topics.jpg) 7 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110255-01-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 8 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110436-restricted-02-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 9 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110703-03-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 10 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501065549-01-chibok-schoolgirls-restricted-topics.jpg) 11 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075910-02-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 12 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075917-03-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 13 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140506110833-04-nigeria-0506-topics.jpg) 14 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075924-04-chibok-schoolgirls-restricted-topics.jpg) 15 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075930-05-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 16 (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140501075936-06-chibok-schoolgirls-topics.jpg) 17 > >> (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/140512095958-01-nigeria-0512-horizontal-gallery.jpg) Photos: Nigerians protest over kidnapped girls "They attacked Menari and killed around 60 people and burned some homes before proceeding to Tsangayari and Garawa villages," resident Algoni Ahunna said.
When news of the attack filtered out, people trooped out from nearby villages carrying arms.
Locals seized an armored tank, three all-terrain vans and 90 motorcycles from the attackers, residents said.
"At Tsangayari and Garawa they met a big surprise as residents engaged them in a fierce battle in which over 200 of the Boko Haram fighters were killed. More than 150 were killed in Tsangayari," Ahunna said.
A lawmaker in Borno state's parliament confirmed the incident.
"I received information on the gallant action taken by the people in Kalabalge District in which at least 200 Boko Haram gunmen were killed," said the lawmaker, who asked not to be named for security reasons.
A relief worker in the area said he counted more than 100 bodies in Tsangayari alone.
"I believe the number of the gunmen killed is up to 250," said the worker, who also asked not to be named for fear of reprisals from Boko Haram.
It was the second defeat Boko Haram has suffered from locals in the area in over a month.
Scores of Boko Haram gunmen were killed by villagers in early April in a foiled raid, residents said.
Meanwhile, the military was having problems among its ranks after 20 soldiers were killed in two separate ambushes on Wednesday. One of those ambushes happened after troops left Chibok, the village from which the girls were kidnapped.
According to military sources, Nigerian soldiers upset over the deaths of their colleagues opened fire on a convoy carrying a military commander. The commander escaped unhurt, the military sources said.
"Soldiers have been angry with the poor treatment they receive from their superiors in terms of inadequate arms and poor allowances in their combat against Boko Haram," a military source said. "The death of their colleagues was too much for them to bear."
The Nigerian defense spokesman, Maj. Gen. Chris Olukolade, downplayed the incident as "an internal issue that has been sorted out."
READ: Witness to terror: Nigeria's missing schoolgirls (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://cnn.com/2014/05/15/world/nigeria-nima-elbagir-chibok/index.html?hptbosread')
READ: Fear and school: How Boko Haram cripples children's future (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://cnn.com/2014/05/14/world/africa/nigeria-fear-and-school/index.html?hptbosread')
READ: Boko Haram: A bloody insurgency, a growing challenge (http://www.theinfostride.com/forum/'http://cnn.com/2014/04/17/world/africa/boko-haram-explainer/index.html?hptbosread')
Source: CNN.com