An assault in the village of Mushu, Plateau State, Nigeria, resulted in the tragic loss of 16 lives, as disclosed by Captain Oya James from the army on Sunday.
This region, marked by clashes between herders and farmers, witnessed the attack late on Saturday, shattering the peaceful night with unexpected gunfire, recounted Markus Amorudu, a resident.
“We were sleeping when suddenly loud shots rang out,” said Markus Amorudu, a resident of the village. “We were scared because we weren’t expecting an attack. People hid, but the assailants captured many of us, some were killed, others wounded,” he told media.
The area, straddling Nigeria’s religious and ethnic divide between the predominantly Muslim north and largely Christian south, has long grappled with tensions. The precise trigger and the responsible party behind this recent attack remain unclear.
Security forces have been deployed to quell further clashes in the region, notorious for escalating violence between Muslim herders and Christian farmers, often culminating in raids by heavily armed groups on villages.
State Governor Caleb Mutfwang denounced the incident as “barbaric, brutal, and unwarranted,” emphasizing the commitment to apprehend the culprits and ensure justice, as conveyed by his spokesman, Gyang Bere.
“Proactive measures will be taken by government to curb the ongoing attacks on innocent citizens,” Bere quoted the governor as saying.
