Gunmen Kill Over 160 in Attacks on Nigerian Villages
More than 160 people were killed in attacks on two villages in Kwara state, western Nigeria, on Tuesday, marking the deadliest armed assaults in the country this year. The attacks on the villages of Woro and Nuku followed a refusal by residents to align with extremist ideologies, according to Kwara state Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
The governor stated on X that "75 local Muslims were massacred" in the raid. A state lawmaker told the BBC that 78 people had already been buried, and the death toll could rise to an estimated 170 as more bodies were recovered.
Umar Bio Salihu, the traditional chief of Woro, recounted a night of terror during which gunmen killed two of his sons and kidnapped his wife and three daughters, according to The Guardian. Salihu said the "gunmen just came in and started shooting."
While Governor AbdulRazaq blamed Islamist militant group Boko Haram for the killings, other sources did not confirm the group's involvement. The Nigerian military had launched an offensive against terrorist elements in Kwara state last month, according to The Guardian.
The attacks involved armed men rounding up residents, binding their hands behind their backs, and shooting them, according to a local politician cited by The Guardian. The attackers also burned down shops and homes during the raid on Woro, according to the BBC.
The massacres have left communities reeling from repeated and widespread acts of violence perpetrated by jihadists and other armed groups, according to The Guardian.
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