JOS, Nigeria: Nigeria’s military officials said on Sunday that at 16 people have been killed in an assault in northcentral Nigeria. The clashes between farmers and herders are common in the region, AFP reported.
Captain Oya James said that the assault took place around midnight Saturday in the area of Mushu in the Plateau State. A local in the area Markus Amorudu said that they were sleeping when abruptly loud shots rang out. He said that they were scared because they were not expecting an attack in the area.
He added that people hid, but the attackers arrested many of them, some were killed, others injured.
The area is on the dividing line between mainly Christian south and Nigeria’s mostly Muslim north and has for several years struggled with religious and ethnic tensions.
Attack Kills 16 in Nigeria: Military
AFP reported that it was not yet clear what sparked the latest assault and who was responsible for it. Security forces were deployed to stop any more clashes in the region, where killings between herders, and farmers often spiral into village attacks by heavily armed groups.
Local Governor Caleb Mutfwang denounced the latest assault as ” brutal, barbaric, and uncalled for” and pledged to bring the culprits to justice, his spokesperson, Gyang Bere said.
“Proactive steps will be taken by the government and authorities to curb the current attacks on innocent people,” the governor said.
Earlier, in May more than 100 people were killed during clashes between farmers and herders in the Plateau state.
