ABUJA, Nigeria — An armed gang has killed more than 100 people in a remote part of northern Nigeria, survivors and local authorities said on Tuesday.
The attackers targeted four villages in the Kanam area of Plateau State, the most recent in violent attacks in Nigeria’s north.
Such attacks in Nigeria’s northern region have become frequent, especially between Fulani Muslims who are mostly cattle herders and Christian communities from the Hausa and other ethnic groups who are mainly farmers.
The conflict over access to land and water has worsened the division between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with its 206 million people deeply divided along religious lines.
In this attack, the assailants arrived Sunday afternoon, ransacking houses and shooting at residents, according to Alpha Sambo, a survivor and Kanam youth leader who is helping those displaced and injured.
“The people that have been killed are more than 100,” he told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Other witnesses say as many as 130 died and many have been injured and displaced.
The police and the state government confirmed the attacks but did not give details on the cause or number of casualties. Authorities in Nigeria have in the past been accused of withholding information about death tolls in such killings.
On social media, videos viewed by AP appeared to show razed houses and bodies wrapped in mats and bags in mass graves. Many were buried even before their loved ones heard of their demise, residents said.
While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest violence, residents said it was carried out by the herdsmen.
