DAKAR, Senegal — The demise toll from an attack by gunmen over the weekend in north-central Nigeria has climbed to 150, survivors mentioned Monday because the villagers have been nonetheless digging by way of burned houses, counting their useless and searching for dozens of individuals nonetheless lacking.
Assailants stormed Benue state’s Yelewata neighborhood late on Friday evening, opening fireplace on villagers who have been asleep and setting their houses ablaze, survivors and the native farmers union mentioned. A lot of these killed have been sheltering in a neighborhood market after fleeing violence in different components of the state.
Nobody instantly claimed duty for the killings, however such attacks are common in Nigeria’s northern region the place native herders and farmers typically conflict over restricted entry to land and water. The prolonged conflict has change into deadlier lately, with authorities and analysts warning that extra herdsmen are taking on arms.
The farmers accuse the herders, largely of Fulani origin, of grazing their livestock on their farms and destroying their produce. The herders insist that the lands are grazing routes that have been first backed by regulation in 1965, 5 years after the nation gained its independence.
Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, whose authorities has fallen in need of expectations in ending the nation’s lethal safety crises, described the Benue assault as “mindless bloodletting” whereas his workplace mentioned he would go to the stricken neighborhood on Wednesday.
Titus Tsegba, who misplaced his spouse and 4 of his kids within the assault, mentioned greater than 20 our bodies have been recovered on Monday. The preliminary demise toll was reported to be 100 on Saturday.
His spouse and kids — the youngest 8 and the oldest 27 — have been “burned into ashes past recognition,” he instructed The Related Press, including that he survived as a result of he was sleeping in one other a part of the neighborhood.
“Every part is gone,” he mentioned.
Benue Deputy Gov. Sam Ode mentioned he suspected the perpetrators have been herdsmen. Ode and the survivors spoke to the AP by cellphone.
The gunmen made it troublesome for a lot of to flee after surrounding the Yelewata neighborhood, which is about 120 kilometers (75 miles) away from the state capital of Makurdi, mentioned Jacob Psokaa, who misplaced his 55-year-old father within the assault.
“They have been coming from completely different sides on the identical second … it was sporadic taking pictures,” Psokaa mentioned. “The state of affairs may be very dangerous now with many individuals within the floor … your individuals leaving you all of a sudden.”
The gunmen additionally burned meals shops within the native market, razing a yr’s harvest that included rice and yam, staple meals primarily exported from Benue to different components of Nigeria.
“Sufficient is sufficient!” mentioned Tinubu, the president. “I’ve directed the safety companies to behave decisively, arrest perpetrators of those evil acts on all sides of the battle, and prosecute them.”