More than 30 people have been killed in Nigeria in clashes between farmers and herdsmen in villages in Plateau State.
"The incident affected more than 30 people. They lost their lives," Dan Manjang, the central Nigerian state's information and communications commissioner, said on Tuesday (May 16th). The clashes were between "herders and farmers," he said.
The north-western and central regions of Nigeria are regularly the scene of conflicts and tensions over the exploitation of land and water resources.
Tuesday's clashes took place "in several villages" in Mangu district, police said. "At approximately 11:56 am (10:56 GMT), we received an emergency call" reporting gunmen "firing sporadically," police spokesman Alfred Alabo said in a statement. Security forces were deployed to the scene and clashed with the troublemakers, the statement said.
The chain of killings followed by reprisals has given rise to wider criminality in the region with gangs carrying out targeted expeditions to villages, mass kidnappings and looting.
American convoy attacked
"As we speak, the culprits are on the run and our officers are in pursuit of them with the aim of ensuring they are neutralized and, if possible, arrested," Alabo said. The president of Mangu District imposed a 24-hour curfew to prevent the unrest from spreading to other areas.
On the same day, in southeastern Nigeria, gunmen attacked a U.S. convoy, killing four non-U.S. people and kidnapping three others, official sources said.
Violence is one of many security challenges facing President-elect Bola Tinubu when he takes over Africa's most populous country later in May. Nigeria's army must fight jihadists in the northeast and deal with separatist tensions in the southeast of the country.
With AFP
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