Renewed violence claims 16 lives in Plateau State

At least 16 people were killed in renewed violence that erupted on Monday in Plateau State, central Nigeria, according to officials and residents. The government of the state said in a statement that a group of assailants including Fulani herdsmen and suspected Chadian rebels attacked the village of Kassa early Monday, setting houses on fire and shooting at people who tried to escape. It gave no casualty figures, but residents said at least 10 people were killed. Police authorities said a combined team of soldiers and policemen who responded to the distress call from the village pursued the attackers, killing six of them. They said soldiers and policemen were still manning roadblocks in the area, searching vehicles for fleeing attackers. Local people said they had expected the attack since a herd of 20 cattle belonging to the mainly Muslim herdsmen was slaughtered by people from the local Birom community, who are predominantly Christians. Plateau State has witnessed intermittent communal violence since September 2001, when clashes between Christians and Muslims in the capital, Jos, claimed more than 1,000 lives. More than 100 people have died this year in fighting between locals and Hausa-Fulani migrants from farther north. Some of these clashes have reportedly involved armed bandits, described by local authorities as former rebels from neighbouring Chad. The ex-rebels have been active in recent years in various parts of central and northeastern Nigeria, where they often act as mercenaries in local feuds.