At least 83 people have been killed in communal violence in Nigeria since December 31, Reuters reports quoting government and police officials.
The violence has pit Muslim cattle herders and Christian farmers, and endangers efforts by President Muhammadu Buhai to bring security and stability to the West African country – a central pledge of his campaign for election in 2015.
The two groups often clash over the use of land in parts of the Middle Belt, a region that is considered of Nigeria’s most diverse in terms of religion and culture.
Reuters reports Terve Akase, chief press secretary to the governor of Benue, to have attributed 71 of the deaths from December 31 to January 6 in the state to killings by the Fulani. The figures haven’t been independently verified yet.
“The attacks happened in very remote villages,” said Akase. “Now, with security operatives on the ground, villagers have been going about the bush to pick up more corpses.”
In neighboring Taraba state, to the east, at least 12 people were killed in similar, ethnically-charged attacks in the Lau region on Friday and Sunday, Reuters reports a police spokesman to say.
The agency also reports resident of Lau to have estimated the number of dead to be more than 30, all of whom had been given mass burial.
Nigerian armed troops have been deployed in more than 30 of the 36 states to tackle insecurity.
