Attackers, including some
wearing military uniforms, have killed 10 members of the same family, with half
the victims under the age of six, the military and an official said Friday.
Central Plateau state, where
the attack occurred late Thursday, has seen waves of violence that has killed
thousands in recent years, in part due to tension between mostly Muslim
herdsmen and a mainly Christian ethnic group.
“A family of 10 were …
murdered,” said Pam Ayuba, the governor’s spokesman. “Five little children
including a two-month-old child were slaughtered.”
Ayuba said he visited the
family’s compound after the attack and spoke to several witnesses who described
the massacre as being carried out by Muslim Fulani herdsmen armed with guns and
machetes.
Several eye witnesses said the assailants were dressed as soldiers, according to Ayuba.
Several eye witnesses said the assailants were dressed as soldiers, according to Ayuba.
The military spokesman in
Plateau, Lt. Kingsley Amos, provided the same details, but assured that no
soldiers were involved in the attack.
“Somehow, some hoodlums and
criminals gained access to our old uniforms…but I can assure that none of our
people were involved,” he told AFP.
Members of the mostly Christian
Berom ethnic group, who consider themselves the state’s indigenes, have
previously accused the military of perpetrating violence on behalf of the
Fulani.
Egbo said soldiers who tried to
access the village after the attack “were met with stiff resistance by the
locals,” citing past allegations against the military as the potential cause.
Plateau lies on Nigeria’s so-called Middle Belt, where the mainly Christian south meets the predominately Muslim north in Africa’s most populous country and top oil producer.
Plateau lies on Nigeria’s so-called Middle Belt, where the mainly Christian south meets the predominately Muslim north in Africa’s most populous country and top oil producer.
Berom leaders have accused the
Fulani of trying to appropriate wide swathes of land from what they claim are
the state’s original settlers.
Fulani leaders as well as
Hausas, who are also mostly Muslim, counter that the state’s primarily
Christian political leaders have deprived them of basic rights.
The victims of the latest
violence were from a Christian Berom
family, the military and Ayuba said.
family, the military and Ayuba said.
Extremist Islamist group Boko
Haram, which has waged a deadly insurgency in north and central Nigeria that
has killed hundreds since 2009, has been blamed for past violence in the state.
But most of the unrest is
thought to be fuelled by the still-bitter grievances between the Berom and the
Fulani.
A number of peace initiatives
have been launched in recent years to pacify the state, which has seen intense
violence interspersed with periods of relative calm.
A recent flare up occurred in July
when a weekend of unrest blamed on Fulani gunmen left an estimated 100 people
dead.
One of the attacks occurred at
a graveside as residents attempted to bury those killed on the previous day.
Tags
Politics
Put the blame on the leadership of the state, because they know what to do to stopp the killing but since they and their family are not affected that's why the killimg continue
ReplyDeleteWhen 'll killings be over in this country as granting boko haram amnesty as they did to Niger deltas or given them leader of the country forever is not possible Now fire is burning our house we are busy chesting rat, who is to win 2015 presidential election should not be our top priority for now
ReplyDeleteThe President hands are filled I guess, too much for him to carry. What a pitty!
ReplyDelete