At least, 30 people have been killed by armed bandits who raided a village in northwest Nigeria, police and residents said, yesterday.
Motorcycle-riding gunmen attacked Kware village in Shinkafi district, last Sunday night, opening fire on residents and burning homes.
“I can confirm 30 people were killed by the bandits in the attack in Kware,” Zamfara police spokesperson Mohammed Shehu told our source.
Residents, however, gave a higher toll of 34, with many others still missing.
“We recovered 34 bodies after the attack and many more residents have not been accounted for,” said Kware resident Alu Wadatau said.
“They came around 4pm and opened fire on the village, shooting anyone on sight and burning houses,” he said.
The attack came just three days after bandits killed 32 vigilance group members in Kware, at a checkpoint set up by locals, police and residents had said.
The vigilance groups were part of a militia force providing security for traders in the area, with besieged communities taking security into their own hands.
Deadly attacks have raged across the northwest where bandits have thrived.
Farming and herding communities in Zamfara and the wider region have long been terrorised by gangs who raid villages, stealing cattle and kidnapping residents for ransom.
Last week some 60 people died in multiple raids on rural villages in Zamfara and Sokoto states.
The repeat attacks on rural villages, often with little protection from security forces, have spurred a rise in armed vigilante groups.