A local official reported Sunday that gunmen attacked a village in northwest Nigeria and killed at least 33 people.
According to Francis Zimbo, chairman of the Zangon Kataf neighbourhood where the massacre took place, more than 35 homes were destroyed in the violence in Runji, which is in the state of Kaduna. State officials refused to comment on the death toll, but Zimbo provided the number of fatalities.
Samuel Aruwan, the state commissioner of security, stated that troops are still in the general area after a fierce encounter with the attackers.
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No one or organisation has taken ownership of the killings. The attacks in the area, which have included kidnapping for ransom and killing civilians, have been blamed on gangs of bandits. Ten students were abducted by gunmen earlier this month about a half-hour drive from the scene of the attack on Saturday.
Even though there were fewer attacks last year as security forces increased military operations targeting the gunmen’s hideouts, the Nigerian government is still having trouble putting an end to the violence in the northwest of the country.
