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Nigeria’s Central Plateau state witnessed an unprecedented violent armed attack in the region last weekend, killing at least 140 people. This is the latest mass killing in the increasingly tense conflict between Christian farmers and Muslim herders.
Gunmen have attacked 17 communities in central Plateau State. It is believed that the attackers, armed with guns and machetes, were cattle breeders. In the “senseless and unprovoked” attacks, they burned down most of the houses in the area, citing the statement of Plateau Governor Caleb Mutfang, the AP agency reports.
“We buried 15 people in Mangu area alone. This morning we counted no less than 100 bodies in Bokosa area. I am yet to assess the deaths in the Barkinladi area. It was a very scary Christmas for us here in Plateau State,” commented the Plateau Governor.
Houses burned and people were killed
The Nigeria office of human rights organization Amnesty International said 140 deaths have been confirmed so far in two areas of Plateau State – Bokosa and Barkinladi. However, concerns have been raised that the actual death toll is higher as many are currently missing.
As a resident of the destroyed villages told Reuters, she was cooking on Christmas Eve when her husband ran into the kitchen and ordered her and her children to flee and hide in the bushes because armed attackers had been spotted in a nearby village. “The next morning we returned home to find that houses had been burned and people had been killed. Many are still missing,” the woman explained in an interview, revealing that there was no one left in her village of Mayang because everyone had fled.
It wasn’t immediately clear
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#Shepherds #farmers #Muslims #Christians