15 killed in clashes in central Nigeria

Makduri: At least 15 people were killed over the past few days in separate attacks in central Nigeria’s Benue State, the scene of regular clashes between Christian farmers and nomadic cattle herders, official sources said today.

Suspected militant herders carried out the attacks on several villages in under 48 hours, Benue State information minister Lawrence Onoja said. The village of Tse Ishav, near Guma, was attacked at around 3am on today, with militants “leaving behind eight corpses, several missing and many wounded,” he said.

It came after two other people were killed on Monday by the same armed men close to the nearby locality of Yelwata, he added. The head of Guma’s local government Anthony Shawon confirmed the death toll of 10, adding that the attackers set fire to houses and farms as they left.

The same militia also carried out further attacks in the neighbouring district of Logo where “five people were killed… and many more wounded,” said Onoja. The head of the local government Richard Nyajo echoed the report, adding that police reinforcements have been deployed.

Benue state has seen a wave of deadly clashes which have left hundreds dead in recent months. The area lies in the so-called “Middle Belt” between Nigeria’s mainly-Christian south and predominantly-Muslim north.