Dozens of Christians are reported to have been killed in renewed strikes by Fulani militants in Mangu local government area of Plateau State, Nigeria. The attacks are the latest in a wave of violence against Christians that has hit Mangu in the past two months.
Houses were burned down in the attacks on Mangu. Screenshot from ECCVN video
The Emancipation Centre for Crisis Victims in Nigeria (ECCVN), an NGO that monitors the conflict in Plateau, said the militants struck two Christian villages – Kubat and Fugzai – during the night of May 16 when people were in their beds.
As preparations were in progress for the mass burial of victims of these attacks, the militants struck again with early morning attacks on several other communities.
An eyewitness told ECCVN that the militants had come in their hundreds, overpowering the residents of the mainly Christian villages.
At least 40 people were killed, the majority of the victims in Kubat and Fugzai.
Following a visit to the affected locations, ECCVN reported hundreds of houses had been razed, leaving thousands without shelter. Livestock and foodstuffs had been looted and property worth millions of Nigerian naira destroyed.
In videos the ECCVN team recorded, shots can be heard and smoke can be seen rising from burned out buildings.
ECCVN said four settlements had already been razed by the time joint security agents arrived to repel the militants.
In a statement, the Plateau State government condemned the latest attacks, whose victims included children.
“The governor commiserates with the victims and assures them that the murderers will not be allowed to go unpunished,” it said.
Between the presidential election on February 25 and May 16, over 30 people in Mangu had been killed in Fulani attacks, according to ECCVN figures.
