At least two dozen people have been killed in central Nigeria’s Plateau state after attackers armed with guns and machetes stormed villages on Monday night, survivors told AFP. Please confirm all political and conflict‑related information with a trusted source.
The assault is the latest eruption of violence in a region long troubled by deadly clashes between Muslim Fulani nomadic herders and Christian farming communities, driven by competition over land, resources and deepening social divisions.
Mathew Joseph, a resident of Bin‑Per village in Mangu local government area, described waking to screams. “We were sleeping, we heard some noises, some people in our neighborhood were screaming,” he said. Looking out the window, he saw armed men approaching. “Before they arrived we managed to escape. We survived by the whisker, but my neighbors were attacked, two people killed in their house.”
Local Red Cross field officer Biplang Moses confirmed the incident, though did not provide a casualty figure. Police have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Plateau sits in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where land used by farmers and herders is increasingly strained by climate change, expanding human settlement and competition for mineral‑rich territory. These pressures have intensified long‑standing tensions, compounded by political rivalries and the spread of hard‑line religious rhetoric.
When violence flares, weak policing often leads to cycles of reprisal attacks across communal lines, making each incident part of a broader pattern of instability in the region.
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