(Al Jazeera Media Network) At least 27 worshippers have been killed and several wounded when armed bandits stormed a mosque in northern Nigeria’s Katsina state during morning prayers, a village head and a hospital official said.
The gunmen opened fire inside a mosque as Muslims gathered to pray at around 04:00 GMT in the remote community of Unguwan Mantau in the Malumfashi local government area, residents said.
No one immediately claimed responsibility, but such attacks have become more common in Nigeria’s northwestern and north-central regions, where local herders and farmers often clash over limited access to land and water.
The attacks have killed and injured scores, with a June attack in north-central Nigeria killing more than 100 people. Amnesty International called for the government to end the “almost daily bloodshed in Benue state”. That attack took place in Yelwata, a town in Benue State, according to Amnesty.
The prolonged conflict has become deadlier in recent years, with authorities and analysts warning that more herdsmen are taking up arms.
The state’s commissioner, Nasir Mu’azu, said the army and police have deployed in the area of Unguwan Mantau following Tuesday’s bloodshed to prevent further attacks, adding that gunmen often hide among the crops in farms during the rainy season to carry out assaults on communities.