Death toll in Nigeria's central state attack rises to 125
Nearly 20,000 people have fled their homes following continuous clashes between herders and farmers.
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People gather to pray at a mass grave for the victims of sectarian violence in Jos, the capital of Plateau State in central Nigeria in 2010. (Reuters)
According to a local official on Friday, the death toll from this week's gunmen assaults on two towns in Nigeria's central Plateau State has grown to 125.
The violence began on Monday, with an initial death toll of 30, in multiple villages of Plateau State, a region that has long been riven by ethnic and religious strife.
Following a brief period of quiet after the elections, violence again increased across Nigeria in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, gunmen attacked a US convoy in southeast Nigeria's Anambra State on Tuesday, killing four people and abducting three others.
Read more: Suspected militants kill seven, kidnap 22 in Nigeria
According to Joseph Gwankat, the national leader of the afflicted community, more dead were recovered on Friday in surrounding bushes and farmlands, four days after gunmen raided Fungzai and Kubwat villages in Plateau State's Mangu Local Government.
"The number of deaths has now increased to about 125. We found some bodies in the bushes and others on farmlands. We also discovered that some victims were thrown into a well by the suspected herdsmen," he detailed.
According to the official, the situation remains tense, with around 20,000 people having fled their houses since Tuesday's unexpected attack on the towns and are now finding safety in churches, school classrooms, and open fields.
"Women and children are hungry and sick. Men are helpless and can't provide food for their surviving families because their farmlands have been destroyed," he said.
He was grateful to the government and humanitarian groups for their assistance in providing medical care and food to the afflicted people.
Gunmen suspected of being herders stormed the neighborhood at dusk on Tuesday and opened fire on residents.
Since the event, police have yet to provide casualty statistics.
Since 2022, attacks on communities in the country's north-central and northwest states have increased, despite departing President Muhammadu Buhari's repeated promises to address the security situation.
