It is reported least eight people have been killed in multiple suicide blasts along a highway in Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria, officials said.

At least Two of those killed on Wednesday were civilians in a camp for displaced people on the outskirts of the city.

Police said five adult, male suicide bombers detonated explosives.

At the vast Muna camp, blasts triggered fires which burned down tents, Tijjani Lumani, a coordinator at the camp, told the AFP news agency.

“There were four explosions inside the camp. The bombers struck at different locations around 4:30am.” Lumani said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks but Maiduguri has been frequently targeted by Boko Haram fighters.

According to eyewitnesses, the bombers had sneaked into the camps late on Tuesday night alongside those who sell charcoal to refugees, who use it to cook their food.

There have been several attempted suicide bomb attacks near the Muna camp, Lumani said.

“We are vulnerable to Boko Haram. They can strike in the camp at any time,” he said.

“All the suicide bombers who attacked the Muna garage just across the road from the camp and surrounding areas came in through the city gate only hundreds of metres from the camp.”

The Islamist insurgency has killed at least 20,000 people and forced more than 2.6 million others from their homes since it began in northeast Nigeria in 2009.

Boko Haram has continued to target the internally displaced people (IDPs) and there have been several attempted suicide bomb attacks near Muna camp, which is not fenced off and is easily accessible.

Aid workers said last week that the Muna camp residents are facing a severe lack of water, compounding widespread food shortages and security fears.

Report Focus and news agencies