Two attacks in north-central Nigeria between Tuesday and Wednesday killed 55 people, according to two community leaders and a Nigerian Red Cross report seen by AFP on Thursday.
Despite a curfew imposed on Tuesday in the local Mangu district, schools, places of worship and homes were burned and looted in both attacks, community leaders said.
The Mwaghavul Development Association, an organization of members of the predominantly Christian Mwaghavul ethnic group, accused Muslim Fulani herdsmen of attacking the village of Kwahaslalek and killing “about thirty people”.
This toll was confirmed by a local relief official and a humanitarian source on site, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity. Police and army spokesmen did not immediately respond to AFP requests for confirmation.
“Two camps for displaced people have been set up in the city of Mangu, for around 1,500 people”Nurudeen Husaini Magaji, local president of the Nigerian Red Cross, told AFP.
The Plateau governor announced the curfew on Tuesday after a new clash that authorities blamed on a dispute between a shepherd transporting his livestock and other residents using the road. The second attack also took place in the city of Mangu between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI), a Muslim community organization, said religious places of worship and schools were attacked.
“We found 25 corpses, we are waiting for the protection of the security forces to bury them” Jafaru Musa, one of the JNI’s local leaders, told AFP by telephone.
“We continue our searches with the support of the Red Cross to see if we can still find the dead, because many people have disappeared”, He added. This assessment was confirmed by another JNI official, Salim Musa.
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Recurring attacks
Plateau state, located on the dividing line between Nigeria’s Muslim-majority north and Christian-majority south, is a hotbed of intercommunal violence.
Tensions have risen since nearly 200 people were killed in Christmas raids on predominantly Christian villages.
Clashes in Nigeria’s northwestern and north-central states have their roots in communal tensions over land use between nomadic herders and sedentary farmers. But these types of attacks have turned into broader crime.
Heavily armed gangs, known locally as bandits, attack villages, loot and kidnap for ransom. At Christmas, nearly 200 people were killed in attacks that hit around twenty villages in the Bokkos and Barkin Ladi districts, bordering Mangu.
These massacres caused havoc in the country but also within the international community. Since then, the region has been subject to recurring attacks, displacing thousands of people.
Since coming to power in May, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said the fight against insecurity is a priority, particularly with the aim of attracting foreign investment to the country.
2024-01-25 16:47:52
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