Keystone
Gunmen have once again killed dozens of people and kidnapped others in north-western Nigeria. According to the police, 38 people were killed in the attack on Friday on a remote village in the Hanka administrative district of Zamfara state. An unknown number of people were also kidnapped, the state’s police spokesman told the German Press Agency. According to local media reports, the death toll could be even higher.
It was only on Wednesday that suspected Islamist extremists killed 33 people in the neighboring state of Kebbi. According to the police, no group had claimed responsibility for the attack in Zamfara. It is suspected that a criminal gang was behind the massacre. The groups, known colloquially as bandits, repeatedly kidnap people in order to extort ransom money.
Northern Nigeria and neighboring regions in the center of the country have been marked by violence from armed groups, some of which pursue Islamist goals, for years. Other crises in every corner of Africa’s most populous state with more than 230 million inhabitants are also stretching the military’s resources.
One of the most serious attacks in recent times was an attack at the beginning of the month in the state of Kwara, in which around 160 people were killed. Islamist extremists were also blamed for the attack.
