Wednesday 19 June 2013

Nigeria in the News- Gunmen Killed 48 in Zamfara

There was an attack by Gunmen killing 48 persons in an attack on a northern Nigerian village Kizara in Zamfara State, a government spokesman, Ibrahim Birnin-Magaji, said on Wednesday. Read full Story as you continue…….

Ibrahim Birnin-Magaji, commissioner for information in Zamfara state, where the remote village is located said “There was an attack by armed bandits early Tuesday on Kizara village where 48 residents were killed in apparent targeted killings by cattle rustlers that have been terrorising the state for some time now,”

It was learnt that the invaders, who perpetrated the massacre, arrived in the community before dawn on motorbikes.

The gunmen were said to have climbed a hill overlooking the village and opened fire indiscriminately on the residents before carrying out house-to-house attacks.

Those killed, he added, included the local chief, chief imam and the head of a vigilance group in the village.

Eyewitnesses also reported that the gunmen arrived in Kizara before dawn on motorbikes.

He said, “They later moved house to house, telling residents that they were looking for members of local vigilante group in the village whom they said had been disturbing them.”

The attack was attributed to an ongoing feud involving cattle thieves in the state.

The commissioner of police in the state, Akila Usman, confirmed the killings.

He, nonetheless, described the invaders as armed robbers.

A similar attack was said to have been carried out last year in the community.

Meanwhile, the Defence Headquarters on Wednesday said the Special Forces had arrested eight of the terrorists that attacked residents of Borno and Yobe states last Saturday.

A statement by the Director, Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, described the attack as “a typical end-game strategy often employed by insurgents across the world.”

Olukolade said the attack was not a relapse in insurgency but an isolated incident.

According to him, the Special Forces have stepped up the mop-up, cordon and search operations to ensure that the vestiges of terrorism are effectively ended in the states.

He added, “Rather, this trend of sneaking in to carry out isolated attack on soft targets as a way of seeking attention, is a typical end-game strategy often employed by insurgents all over the world; In this instance, the recent activities are signs of desperation of a decimated insurgent group attempting to hang on to public consciousness.”


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