Nigeria: Scores Reported Killed in Village Raids in Nigerian Land Conflict
Mar 13, 2014
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Agence France-Presse, The New York Times
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KANO, Nigeria — Gunmen on motorbikes killed at least 69 people and burned down several homes in attacks on four villages related to conflicts over land in northwestern Nigeria, a state lawmaker said Thursday.
The lawmaker, Abbas Abdullahi Michika, said that the attacks in the four villages in Katsina State erupted on Tuesday and that women and children were among the victims.“So far, 69 bodies have been recovered from the attacks carried out by a large group of gunmen riding on motorcycles,” Mr. Michika said. “Rescue teams are still combing nearby bushes in search for more bodies.”He said that 47 people were killed in the village of Mararrabar Maigora while seven deaths were recorded in Kura Mota and in Unguwar Rimi. Eight people were killed in the village of Maigora, he said.The state’s police chief, Hurdi Mohammed, who gave a toll of 30 dead, said the violence was carried out by ethnic Fulani herdsmen, who have been blamed for scores of deadly raids in the region.