(Al Jazeera Media Network) Gunmen have raided a village in northern Nigeria’s Niger state, killing at least 30 villagers and abducting others, in what marks the latest deadly attack in the conflict-hit region.
“Over 30 victims lost their lives during the attack; some persons were also kidnapped,” Wasiu Abiodun, Niger police spokesman, said in a statement on Sunday.
Abiodun added that the gunmen stormed Kasuwan Daji market in Demo village at around 4:30 p.m. [15:30 GMT] on Saturday, burning stalls and looting food items.
Such attacks are all too common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, where dozens of rogue gangs – locally known as “bandits” – often target remote communities with limited security and government presence.
The attackers arrived from the National Park Forest along Kabe district, according to the police, pointing to a usual trend where expansive forest reserves act as hideouts for armed gangs.
Witnesses said they drove motorcycles and opened fire indiscriminately. “Women and children were not spared,” Dauda Shakulle, who was wounded while fleeing, told Reuters. “There has been no presence of security forces since the attacks began. We are currently recovering corpses.”
Niger state’s Borgu local government area was the site of another attack in November, when more than 300 schoolchildren and their teachers were kidnapped from a Catholic school. Those victims were released after nearly a month in captivity.
Niger state has been one of the hardest hit by violence in recent months. Security forces have struggled to contain the violence despite ongoing operations.
United States President Donald Trump threatened military action over what he described as targeted killings of Nigeria’s Christians, a narrative rejected by the Nigerian government, which says Muslims are the majority victims of attacks by armed groups.
The US, in cooperation with Nigeria, conducted air attacks against ISIL (ISIS) fighters in northwest Nigeria on December 25, following Trump’s pledge to take action on what he called a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria.