© REUTERS
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu speaks after the swearing-in ceremony in Abuja. May 23, 2023
Extraordinary news
Get the big news as it happens – straight to your email. The victims of attacks by armed groups in the central Nigerian state of Plateau are now 198, Agence France-Presse reported, citing new data from local authorities.
Nearly 150 victims were found in the village of Bokos, and 50 people were killed in four villages in the neighboring district of Barkin Ladi. 500 were injured and thousands of people fled their homes.
Between Saturday night and Monday morning (December 23-25), armed groups attacked at least 20 villages in Plateau State, where religious and ethnic tensions have been simmering for years. Local officials say the attacks were well-coordinated.
The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, has ordered security agencies to intervene immediately and scour every inch of the violence-affected area to nab those responsible.
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The NGO Amnesty International said Nigerian authorities are still failing to end frequent attacks in Plateau State, where clashes between herdsmen and farmers are common.
Plateau is among several states, part of the so-called middle belt of Nigeria, inhabited by ethnically and religiously diverse communities. In recent years, conflicts between separate communities there have claimed the lives of hundreds of people.
In May of this year, more than 100 people were killed in clashes between farmers and herdsmen in Plateau State, Reuters recalls.
2023-12-27 21:15:00
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