Violence erupts in Nigeria's Benue state, claiming over 40 lives
In the past three days, the Gwer West district in Benue state, Nigeria, has been hit by a series of deadly attacks attributed to suspected Fulani cattle herders. Ormin Torsar Victor, the chairman of the local government area, disclosed to news agencies that at least 42 people have been killed in these attacks.
On Sunday, 32 bodies were recovered from the Ahume and Aondona villages following assaults, while 10 more were found dead in the Tyolaha and Tse-Ubiam villages after a separate attack on Saturday. "We are still recovering corpses," Victor lamented to journalists.
Preliminary reports indicate that 20 individuals were killed in Aondana village alone on Sunday, according to Orsar Victor. Residents like Ruthie Dan Sam from Aondona shared harrowing accounts of the massacre, stating that children as young as two were killed and that a baby was macheted in the mouth.
Victor also shared news of burials in the Tewa Biana village, close to a military base, where five individuals, including a father and two of his sons, were killed in the attacks.
Benue State Police confirmed two attacks in the area, reporting the death of a policeman during his efforts to repel an attack, while three dead bodies were discovered.
The motive behind these attacks remains unclear, but Victor accusingly points to the coordinated assaults as the work of Fulani cattle herders. Conflicts in the region are often exacerbated by overlapping ethnic and religious divisions.
Located in Nigeria's Middle Belt, Benue state represents the junction of the predominantly Muslim North and the largely Christian South. The region experiences tensions over land use, with herders competing for grazing land and farmers needing arable land for cultivation. Muslim ethnic Fulani nomadic herders have long clashed with settled farmers, many of whom are Christian, in Benue over access to land and resources.
Benue Governor Hyacinth Iormem Alia's office reported an also targeted attack on a Catholic priest in the area, leaving him in critical but stable condition. The state has faced significant violence in recent years, including escalating clashes between nomadic herders and local farmers, who frequently blame herdsmen for destroying farmland with their cattle grazing.
In the context of international news, the situation in Benue state, Nigeria, is of concern as it witnesses continued war-and-conflicts between Fulani cattle herders and local residents. Politics surrounding land use and religion have been at the center of these clashes, with violence escalating in the region and recently resulting in the death of 42 people in the Gwer West district. The crimes and injustice unfolding in the area have led to calls for justice and resolution of the long-standing issues.
