Plateau Attack Kills 16Reuters
Sixteen people have been killed in an attack in Plateau State that spilled over to Sunday from Saturday.
The attack occurred in the village of Mushu, AFP said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
The Nigerian army did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Plateau is one of several ethnically and religiously diverse hinterland states known as Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where inter-communal conflict has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years.
In May, fights between farmers and herders in the Plateau state had killed over 100 people.
The violence is often painted as ethno-religious conflict between Muslim herders and mainly Christian farmers. But climate change and expanding agriculture are also major factors.
It was learnt that the night attack which resulted in the death of the villagers occurred in the Lisham Kwahasnat community, situated between Mangu and Bokkos Local Government Areas of the state.
It was further gathered that following the killings, the villagers who were infuriated by the attacks went after the assailants leading to the burning of several houses and the destruction of properties in different localities on Sunday
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Alabo Alfred, said he would find out about the situation and get back to our correspondent when contacted on the incident on Sunday
However, the spokesman for the Military Taskforce in charge of maintaining peace in the state, Captain Oya James, confirmed the killings to The PUNCH in Jos on Sunday.
James, who condemned the renewed violence in the area, however, said that more troops had been deployed to the troubled communities to forestall further breakdown of law and order.
James said, “We were on our way to Mangu to prepare for an event tomorrow (Monday) when we were told that there was little unrest in Bokkos and we had to move to Bokkos, and we have been there since morning till now.
“What happened was that some assailants went to a village between Mangu and Bokkos and killed fourteen persons.
“The villagers were also attacking herders thinking possibly that they were the ones responsible for the killings. So, we have been here trying to stop them.
“While we are in a particular location, you will hear that they have started attacking another village and our troops will rush to the affected village.
“That is what we have been doing since morning till this Sunday afternoon but the situation has been brought under control because our troops are on the ground and more troops are on their way to ensure that no further breakdown of law and other happens.”
