371 Killed, Dozens of Villages Sacked in Zamfara, Says Amnesty International
Amnesty International (AI) has claimed that at least 371 people have been killed by bandits in Zamfara State since January 2018, while dozens of villages have been sacked.
The human rights watchdog said insecurity was escalating in the North-west state, with daily killings and kidnappings by the bandits, leaving villagers to live in constant fear of unchallenged attacks.
The Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, said in a statement yesterday that thousands of people have been displaced by a conflict which began in 2012 as a result of clashes between farmers and herders.
“This is Nigeria’s forgotten conflict. The authorities’ failure to act has left villagers in Zamfara at the mercy of bandits, who have killed hundreds of people over the course of two bloody years. When we visited the region, villagers told us that they had pleaded with the government to help them after receiving warning letters from the bandits ahead of attacks but had received no protection. The Nigerian authorities have repeatedly claimed to be tackling the situation, but the mounting death toll tells a different story,” Ojigho noted.
He said on July 27, 18 villages in the Mashema, Kwashabawa and Birane districts of Zurmi Local Government Area (LGA) of Zamfara State were attacked, leaving at least 42 people dead, adding that at least 18,000 residents of the affected villages who were displaced over the weekend were now taking refuge at various locations in the local government headquarters.
“The following day, a further 15 people were kidnapped in Maradun LGA,” the statement added
“On July 28, President Muhammadu Buhari, announced the deployment of 1,000 troops to Zamfara State. This is the third time since November 2017 that the authorities have deployed the military in response to attacks, but villagers told Amnesty International that this has not translated into protection for remote, vulnerable communities,” the statement said. Amnesty International said the previous military interventions had failed to end the killings, especially in rural areas of Zamfara.
“At least 371 people have been killed in Zamfara in 2018 alone, and at least 238 of these killings took place after the deployment of the Nigerian air force. The government is still neglecting the most vulnerable communities in this region,” said Ojigho.
According to him, between Sunday 7 and July 12, AI visited communities in five local government areas of Zamfara state – Zurmi, Maradun, Maru, Anka and Tsafe, adding that although security forces were present in the state capital Gusau, researchers saw soldiers and air force personnel in only two of the villages they visited – Birane and Bagega.
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The human rights watchdog said insecurity was escalating in the North-west state, with daily killings and kidnappings by the bandits, leaving villagers to live in constant fear of unchallenged attacks.
The Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, said in a statement yesterday that thousands of people have been displaced by a conflict which began in 2012 as a result of clashes between farmers and herders.
“This is Nigeria’s forgotten conflict. The authorities’ failure to act has left villagers in Zamfara at the mercy of bandits, who have killed hundreds of people over the course of two bloody years. When we visited the region, villagers told us that they had pleaded with the government to help them after receiving warning letters from the bandits ahead of attacks but had received no protection. The Nigerian authorities have repeatedly claimed to be tackling the situation, but the mounting death toll tells a different story,” Ojigho noted.
He said on July 27, 18 villages in the Mashema, Kwashabawa and Birane districts of Zurmi Local Government Area (LGA) of Zamfara State were attacked, leaving at least 42 people dead, adding that at least 18,000 residents of the affected villages who were displaced over the weekend were now taking refuge at various locations in the local government headquarters.
“The following day, a further 15 people were kidnapped in Maradun LGA,” the statement added
“On July 28, President Muhammadu Buhari, announced the deployment of 1,000 troops to Zamfara State. This is the third time since November 2017 that the authorities have deployed the military in response to attacks, but villagers told Amnesty International that this has not translated into protection for remote, vulnerable communities,” the statement said. Amnesty International said the previous military interventions had failed to end the killings, especially in rural areas of Zamfara.
“At least 371 people have been killed in Zamfara in 2018 alone, and at least 238 of these killings took place after the deployment of the Nigerian air force. The government is still neglecting the most vulnerable communities in this region,” said Ojigho.
According to him, between Sunday 7 and July 12, AI visited communities in five local government areas of Zamfara state – Zurmi, Maradun, Maru, Anka and Tsafe, adding that although security forces were present in the state capital Gusau, researchers saw soldiers and air force personnel in only two of the villages they visited – Birane and Bagega.
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