Multiple attacks by gunmen in central Nigeria's Benue State left at least 23 people dead, a Red Cross official said Sunday, as the region continues to see violence linked to land use and ethnic and religious tensions
Gunmen killed 23 people in four separate attacks in central Nigeria's Benue state, a Red Cross official said Sunday, the latest flare-up of unrest in the region.
The attacks happened Saturday night in four villages.
Clashes between nomadic cattle herders and farmers over land use are common in central Nigeria.
"Reports from the field have confirmed the killings of at least 23 people from different attacks," Red Cross secretary in Benue state Anthony Abah told AFP.
Eight people were killed in Ukum, nine in nearby Logo, three each in Guma and Kwande, he said, citing data from the organisation's field disaster officers. Several others were wounded, he added.
A police spokeswoman said she was unaware of the attacks.
Cephas Kangeh, a retired general manager with a state electricity company who recently relocated to his home village near one of the affected areas told AFP he had heard of three killings, including a couple ambushed while riding a motorcycle which "was taken away by the herdsmen".
Chinese operators are mining gold in the area, he said.
"The attacks did not take place near the mining sites," said Kangeh.
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