An area that has long been a hotbed of resource disputes and intercommunal conflicts is the scene of the most recent bloodshed, which claimed almost 40 lives.
According to the local administration, gunmen on motorbikes raided a mining hamlet in north-central Nigeria, killing about 40 people while shooting at individuals and setting houses on fire.
Musa Ibrahim Ashoms, the Plateau state commissioner for information, told AFP over the phone on Tuesday that armed men had broken into the Zurak hamlet, firing intermittently and setting houses on fire.
About 40 persons have been officially declared dead as of right now. Zurak is a well-liked mining town,” he remarked.
The Wase region in Plateau state was the scene of an attack late on Monday, marking the latest act of violence in an area that has long served as a hotbed for resource disputes and intercommunal conflicts.
Shafi’i Sambo, a local youth leader, added that the raid had claimed the lives of at least 42 people.
While Plateau is well-known for its tin mining sector, Wase contains resources of zinc and lead.
Line of fault
The Plateau, which divides Nigeria into its mostly Christian south and mostly Muslim north, frequently experiences violent outbursts caused by conflicts between pastoral farmers and nomadic herders.
Tensions over access to water, grazing pasture, and other resources, like the state’s metal reserves, have also increased as a result of the climate issue.
Parts of northwest and northcentral Nigeria have also been terrorised by heavily armed criminal gangs, who raid villages to loot and carry out mass kidnappings for ransom.
In January, intercommunal clashes erupted in Plateau’s Mangu town that left churches and mosques burned, more than 50 people dead and thousands displaced.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
