Gunmen kill dozen people at Nigeria mining site
At least 12 were killed and several others injured when a gunmen attacked a mining site in Plateau State in central Nigeria, local officials and community leaders report.
The attackers struck late on Tuesday at a site in Barkin Ladi region, opening fire on miners before fleeing. Three people were also abducted during the raid, allegedly carried out by armed Fulani militias, local media reported.
Five others have been hospitalized with gunshot wounds, Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, leader of the Berom Youth Moulders-Association (BYM), said, according to Reuters.
Police in Plateau have reportedly confirmed the attack and said security forces had been deployed to the area, adding that investigations were ongoing. The state has repeatedly been hit by violence linked to criminal gangs and communal tensions.
The assault is the latest in a series of deadly attacks in Africa’s most populous country, where armed gangs and militant groups have intensified raids on rural communities, including churches and schools, particularly in the northwest and parts of the Middle Belt.
The federal government declared a nationwide security emergency late last month and ordered the deployment of more military and police forces and intensified operations in response to a surge in mass kidnappings and attacks on schools and churches.
The UN human rights office has said at least 402 people, mainly schoolchildren, have been kidnapped in four states in the north-central region – Niger, Kebbi, Kwara and Borno – since November 17.
At least 20,468 schools have been indefinitely closed across seven states in the wake of the abductions, according to estimates published by not-for-profit organization Amnesty International on November 25.
On Tuesday, the US announced new visa restrictions on Nigerian nationals, citing security concerns linked to persistent attacks by “radical Islamic terrorist groups” such as Boko Haram and Islamic State affiliates. US President Donald Trump has previously warned that his administration could consider military action in the West African country, targeting militants he accused of carrying out a “genocide” against Christians.
