07 January 2016•Update: 07 January 2016
By Rafiu Ajakaye
LAGOS, Nigeria
Up to 20 people were killed Tuesday in clashes thought to involve rival groups of farmers and herdsmen in Nigeria, according to officials and local residents.
The violence in Nasarawa state involved Fulani herdsmen attacking farmers from the Udeni community, locals told Anadolu Agency.
"We lost 20 people while six others are being treated in hospitals in Lafia after we all fled from our villages," farmer Genyi Audu said by telephone from Lafia, the state capital. "The attack occurred in the early morning by Fulani herdsmen who said they were avenging the death of some of their brothers."
Mairo Abuna, who also fled the violence, added: "We can no longer stay in our homes because of these continuous fights between farmers and herdsmen. It has never really ended."
The Minority Report, a platform which records the low-scale crisis in central Nigeria, said up to 38 persons had been killed in the latest bout of violence.
"An attack by a suspected Fulani militia has killed 38 persons in the Afo community and the Udeni Magaji community of Nasarawa state," the group said in a statement.
"Countless others have fled from the neighboring villages of Amaku, Agbashi, Odeni and other communities. Among those running away from the crisis are Fulani herdsmen with their herds of cattle.
"This crisis is reportedly as a result of the abduction and massacre of three Fulani young men."
A police spokesman said extra officers had been deployed to the area. "We do not have any precise casualties figure at the moment," he said. "Initially, we understood that seven died while houses were also torched."
Nigeria's central region, or Middle Belt, is the scene of ethnic and religious violence stemming from competition over land ownership between farmers and herdsmen.
A similar clash in Nasarawa last Sunday reportedly killed up to 15 people.
More than 30 are thought to have been killed in similar incidents in the Vom area of Plateau state on Dec. 24.
