At least 18 people have been killed in an attack in central Nigeria

INA-sources

 

An attack on a village in central Nigeria has killed at least 18 people and set fire to dozens of homes, residents and officials said Wednesday.
 
Authorities have confirmed that an attack Tuesday evening targeted the village of Ansha in Plateau state and resulted in many deaths, without being able to determine the number.
One of the villagers said; “Our village has been attacked overnight and we have counted 18 deaths,” Deacon Ota told AFP by phone.
 
“I participated in the evacuation of the corpses. The attack also caused many victims, who are now being treated in the local clinic,” he added.
 
In turn, Davidson Malleson, the local leader of the Irigoy ethnicity, which includes Ancha’s villagers, said “18 people were killed and six others were injured” in the attack.
 
He added in a statement that the attackers set fire to more than 24 houses and a number of vehicles, and accused Fulani herders of being behind the attack.
 
However, a local Fulani herdsman leader denounced the attack and denied charges against members of his ethnic group.
 
In a statement, Mohamed Noro Abdallah expressed regret “for the swift accusation against us every time Irigoy people are killed or attacked.”
 
 
For his part, Plateau governor Simon Paco Lalong said the attack “left many dead”, without specifying their number, and condemned the “endless series of violent attacks” in the region.
 
The Nigerian army, for its part, confirmed that its units had been deployed to the village, but that the attackers had fled before arriving.
 
He added that the attack resulted in “the destruction of houses and the killing of villagers”.
 
This attack is the latest in a long series of attacks in a region that has for years witnessed clashes between herders and farmers over disputes over grazing and water rights.
 
However, local officials claim that the recent attacks in this area are the work of criminals known locally as “bandits” and have nothing to do with natural resources.