Gunmen launched deadly assaults on two villages in Nigeria’s central Plateau state, killing at least 14 people, according to the Red Cross.
The attacks, carried out late Tuesday, struck communities already scarred by years of conflict between farmers and herders over shrinking land resources.
Red Cross Plateau secretary Nurudeen Hassan Magaji said 12 people, including four women, were killed in Rachas Yelwa village in the Barkin Ladi district.
Two more victims were reported in a separate attack on the nearby village of Rawuru, deepening fears of renewed unrest in the region.
Barkin Ladi council chairman Stephen Pwajok condemned the incidents as “unfortunate, unprovoked and deeply regrettable,” urging calm and restraint among residents.
“These attacks that killed 14 people are unacceptable,” he said, describing the violence as a tragic reminder of Nigeria’s fragile peace in the Middle Belt.
Plateau state and its surrounding areas have long endured recurring bloodshed, often linked to disputes between nomadic Fulani herders and predominantly Christian farmers.
The region’s fertile lands have become battlefields, as climate pressures and population growth intensify competition over grazing routes and farmland.
Earlier this year, back-to-back massacres in Plateau left more than 100 people dead, prompting state authorities to label the killings “genocide sponsored by terrorists.”
While officials have pledged stronger security responses, many communities remain vulnerable, living in fear of the next round of violence that strikes without warning.
The recent bloodshed underscores the deep-rooted divisions haunting Nigeria’s heartland, where survival has become an ever more fragile negotiation.
