At least 30 people have been killed and several others injured in Nigeria’s central Plateau state in a series of attacks around Mangu town, despite a curfew imposed by the state government, a community spokesperson said.
Farmer-herder attacks and communal conflicts are rife in central Nigeria, an ethnically and religiously diverse hinterland known as the ‘Middle Belt’ where a circle of violence has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years.
The latest violence on Tuesday and Wednesday came after a Christmas Day attack in the area which left at least 140 people dead. A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed on Jan. 23.
The attackers targeted several villages including Kwahaslalek, Kinat and Mairana, located on the borders of Mangu and Barkin Ladi local government areas, said Joseph Gwankat, head of the community group Mwaghavul Development Association (MDA).
“The victims had sought refuge in the house of a community leader after earlier unrest in Mangu town. The attackers surrounded the house and killed those inside,” Gwankat told Reuters by phone.