According to local officials, at least 42 people were shot dead by suspected herders in a series of weekend attacks across Gwer West district in Nigeria’s central Benue state.
The chairman of the Gwer West local government, Victor Omnin, said thirty-two bodies were recovered from Sunday’s assaults on the Ahume and Aondona villages, while 10 more were killed in a separate attack on the villages of Tyolaha and Tse-Ubiam on Saturday.
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“It’s a pathetic situation. As we speak, we are still recovering corpses,” Omnin told journalists.
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Benue is located in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, which connects the primarily Muslim North to the predominantly Christian South. The region is experiencing land use rivalry, with conflicts arising between herders seeking grazing land for their cattle and farmers in need of arable land for agriculture. These tensions are frequently exacerbated by intersecting ethnic and religious divisions.
The office of Benue Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia said a Catholic priest was also shot in the area by the assailants and is in critical but stable condition.
