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Armed attackers have killed at least 14 people in two separate raids on villages in Plateau state, central Nigeria, according to a Red Cross representative on Wednesday.
The state and the broader region of central Nigeria have faced years of violent confrontations between farmers and herders over diminishing land, as well as assaults from armed groups commonly referred to as “bandits.”
Nurudeen Hassan Magaji, the Red Cross secretary in Plateau, reported that the late Tuesday assault claimed the lives of 12 individuals, including four women, in Rachas Yelwa, a village located in the Barkin Ladi district.
He said that two additional fatalities were recorded from a distinct attack in the village of Rawuru.
Stephen Pwajok, the Chairman of Barkin Ladi council, described the assaults as “unfortunate, unprovoked, and deeply regrettable.”
“The two incidents resulting in the deaths of 14 individuals are intolerable,” he said.
Conflicts over land between nomadic cattle herders, who are often part of the Muslim Fulani ethnic group, and predominantly Christian farmers are prevalent in central Nigeria.
Tensions heightened earlier this year following consecutive massacres in Plateau state that resulted in over 100 deaths, with local authorities asserting that the violence constituted a “genocide” perpetrated by “terrorists.
