LAGOS 

By Rafiu Ajakaye

Unknown gunmen killed on Friday a seven-member family in Nigeria's northwest Kaduna state in what has is beleived to be a continuation of violent ethic rivalry in the state's mainly Christian southern region.

"They killed all seven members of the family and destroyed their homes before the security guys arrived there," Ilya Shuwa, a resident of the Manchok village of Kaura local government area where the attack occurred, told Anadolu Agency.

"The husband, wife and their children were killed."

Shuwa said the gunmen were believed to be "Fulani herdsmen who have been at loggerheads with other tribes such as the Bajju."

Police spokesman in Kaduna, Aminu Lawan, refused to confirm or deny the attack.

"We will get back to the press as soon as details of the reported attack reach us."

But a security source confirmed the attack to AA.

"We were told that these killings were becoming routine," he said, asking not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

"It is believed that today's attack is a reprisal. We learnt that some Fulani herdsmen were killed last week in the same village," asserted the source.

Ethnic rivalry has for many years played major roles in conflicts in Kaduna, especially in the southern part of the state with different tribes jostling to take preeminence and have bigger share of the scarce resources such as grazing land and political offices.

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