Arthur Greene
At least 200 people have been killed after gunmen on motorbikes terrorised villages across the Nigerian state of Zamfara last week.
The armed bandits pillaged communities across the state from Tuesday to Thursday, opening fire on fleeing crowds and setting fire to their homes.
Minister of humanitarian affairs Sadiya Umar Farouq said more than 10,000 people were displaced when “their homes were razed by the bandits, while scores are still missing”.
Many of those who managed to flee from the attacks returned to their villages over the weekend to find the military conducting mass burials of the dead.
The military said that the official death toll is 58, but local communities claim that many more were killed.
Before the raids took place, the military conducted airstrikes on the region on Monday, killing more than 100 militants, including two of their leaders.
Zamfara is the most embattled region in north-west and central Nigeria. Its villages have been subjected to relentless attacks from militants.
The armed groups have committed thousands of abductions, killings and acts of sexual violence.
Image source: @AJEnglish
