Armed groups have killed at least 160 people in central Nigeria in a series of attacks on villages, local government officials said on Monday.
The attacks took place in Plateau state, a region plagued for several years by religious and ethnic tensions.
“As I am talking to you, in Mangu local government alone, we buried 15 people. As of this morning, in Bokkos, we are counting not less than 100 corpses. I am yet to take stock of [the deaths in] Barkin Ladi,” Governer Caleb Mutfwang said. “It has been a very terrifying Christmas for us here in Plateau.”
Military gangs, locally called “bandits”, launched “well-coordinated” attacks in “not fewer than 20 different communities” and torched houses, officials said.
A provisional toll by the local Red Cross reported 104 deaths in 18 villages in the Bokkos region.
At least 50 people were also reported dead in several villages in the Barkin Ladi area, according to Dickson Chollom, a member of the state parliament.
He condemned the attacks and called on the security forces to act swiftly.