Latest news with #Fulani
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Gunmen kill 25 in restive central Nigeria state over weekend
JOS: Gunmen killed 25 people in two attacks across north-central Nigeria's Benue state over the weekend, local authorities told AFP Monday, the latest violence in a region known for deadly land disputes and reprisals. Attackers killed 14 people on Sunday in the community of Ankpali, said Adam Ochega, chairman of the Apa local government council, warning that "there are still some threats here and there". Muslim ethnic Fulani nomadic herders have long clashed with settled farmers, many of whom are Christian, in Benue over access to land and resources. In a recent report, Amnesty International tallied 6,896 people killed over the last two years in Benue, part of Nigeria's so-called Middle Belt, a mixed-religious region where such disputes often take on a sectarian dimension. A police spokeswoman confirmed the attack but did not provide a toll. Contacted by telephone, resident Ajija Moses said the attackers stormed the community around 6:00 pm, blaming armed Fulani men who were "shooting sporadically". In a similar attack Sunday evening on Naka village, of Gwer West local government area, 11 people were killed by what authorities said were suspected Fulani militias. "So far we have recovered 11 dead bodies and five people are confirmed injured," Gwer West council chairman Ormin Victor told AFP. Last month, 44 people were killed in a span of four days in Gwer West. Motives for the violence in that attack were not clear, but Victor blamed the "coordinated attacks" on Fulani cattle herders. Resident Amineh Vincent said the village continued to live in fear. "The attackers invaded our community... were shooting anyhow, they killed many people," he told AFP. The attackers don't "want us to cultivate our lands, they keeping on attacking and killing us," he alleged. Deadly competition for land Herders across the region say they are also the victims of deadly attacks by farmers, land grabs and cattle poisonings. Land used by farmers and herders in central Nigeria is coming under stress from climate change and human expansion, sparking deadly competition for increasingly limited space. Benue has been one of the states hit hardest by such violence between nomadic herders and farmers who blame herdsmen for destroying farmland with their cattle grazing. When violence flares, weak policing all but guarantees indiscriminate reprisal attacks, which often occur across communal lines. A spate of attacks across Benue and neighbouring Plateau state left more than 150 people dead in April alone. Land grabbing, political and economic tensions between locals and those considered outsiders, as well as an influx of hardline Muslim and Christian preachers, have heightened divisions in Plateau state in recent decades.
The Sun
4 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Gunmen kill 25 in restive central Nigeria state
JOS: Gunmen over the weekend killed 25 people in two attacks across north-central Nigeria's Benue state, local authorities told AFP Monday, the latest violence in a region known for deadly land disputes and reprisals. Attackers killed 14 people on Sunday in the community of Ankpali, said Adam Ochega, chairman of the Apa local government council, warning that 'there are still some threats here and there'. Muslim ethnic Fulani nomadic herders have long clashed with settled farmers, many of whom are Christian, in Benue over access to land and resources. In a recent report, Amnesty International tallied 6,896 people killed over the last two years in Benue, part of Nigeria's so-called Middle Belt, a mixed-religious region where such disputes often take on a sectarian dimension. A police spokeswoman confirmed the attack but did not provide a toll. In a similar attack Sunday evening on Naka village, of Gwer West local government area, 11 people were killed by what authorities said were suspected Fulani militias. 'So far we have recovered 11 dead bodies and five people are confirmed injured,' Gwer West council chairman Ormin Victor told AFP. Last month, 44 people were killed in a span of four days in Gwer West. Motives for the violence in that attack were not clear, but Victor blamed the 'coordinated attacks' on Fulani cattle herders. Deadly competition for land Herders across the region meanwhile say they are also the victims of deadly attacks by farmers, land grabs and cattle poisonings. Land used by farmers and herders in central Nigeria is coming under stress from climate change and human expansion, sparking deadly competition for increasingly limited space. Benue has been one of the states hit hardest by such violence between nomadic herders and farmers who blame herdsmen for destroying farmland with their cattle grazing. When violence flares, weak policing all but guarantees indiscriminate reprisal attacks, which often occur across communal lines. A spate of attacks across Benue and neighbouring Plateau state left more than 150 people dead in April alone. Land grabbing, political and economic tensions between local 'indigenes' and those considered outsiders, as well as an influx of hardline Muslim and Christian preachers, have heightened divisions in Plateau state in recent decades.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Gunmen kill 25 in restive central Nigeria state
- JOS: Gunmen over the weekend killed 25 people in two attacks across north-central Nigeria's Benue state, local authorities told AFP Monday, the latest violence in a region known for deadly land disputes and reprisals. Attackers killed 14 people on Sunday in the community of Ankpali, said Adam Ochega, chairman of the Apa local government council, warning that "there are still some threats here and there". Muslim ethnic Fulani nomadic herders have long clashed with settled farmers, many of whom are Christian, in Benue over access to land and resources. In a recent report, Amnesty International tallied 6,896 people killed over the last two years in Benue, part of Nigeria's so-called Middle Belt, a mixed-religious region where such disputes often take on a sectarian dimension. A police spokeswoman confirmed the attack but did not provide a toll. In a similar attack Sunday evening on Naka village, of Gwer West local government area, 11 people were killed by what authorities said were suspected Fulani militias. "So far we have recovered 11 dead bodies and five people are confirmed injured," says Gwer West council chairman Ormin Victor. Last month, 44 people were killed in a span of four days in Gwer West. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Free P2,000 GCash eGift UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo Motives for the violence in that attack were not clear, but Victor blamed the "coordinated attacks" on Fulani cattle herders. Herders across the region meanwhile say they are also the victims of deadly attacks by farmers, land grabs and cattle poisonings. Land used by farmers and herders in central Nigeria is coming under stress from climate change and human expansion, sparking deadly competition for increasingly limited space. Benue has been one of the states hit hardest by such violence between nomadic herders and farmers who blame herdsmen for destroying farmland with their cattle grazing. When violence flares, weak policing all but guarantees indiscriminate reprisal attacks, which often occur across communal lines. A spate of attacks across Benue and neighbouring Plateau state left more than 150 people dead in April alone. Land grabbing, political and economic tensions between local "indigenes" and those considered outsiders, as well as an influx of hardline Muslim and Christian preachers, have heightened divisions in Plateau state in recent decades.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
Uncovering the blood gold crisis in Burkina Faso
IN 2022, Burkina Faso endured its second coup in eight months, with Captain Ibrahim Traoré overthrowing his ally Paul Henri Damiba, who had himself seized power from democratically elected President Roch Kaboré. NEVER in history has Julius Nyerere's 1961 speech, *The Second Scramble for Africa*, been more relevant than today in the context of Burkina Faso. As Burkina Faso's military junta escalates its suppression of press freedoms, banning international media and imprisoning local journalists, the true scale of the humanitarian crisis and criminality emerges through the reporting of Al Jazeera and many other rights organisations. Their investigations reveal one of the largest scrambles for minerals in Africa and a nation in collapse: mass atrocities against civilians, unchecked terrorist violence, blood diamonds and a humanitarian catastrophe deliberately obscured by Captain Traoré's propaganda machine. Behind the façade of liberation and viral TikTok videos is a country and a region in a crisis. Earlier this month, Al Jazeera highlighted a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report revealing that Burkina Faso's military and allied militias massacred over 130 ethnic Fulani civilians near Solenzo in March 2025. Survivors described soldiers and pro-government militias shooting civilians 'like animals' while drones hovered overhead, indicating command-level coordination. These findings, corroborated by witness testimonies and video evidence, expose a systematic campaign of ethnic violence masked as counterterrorism. According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), since 2019, the Sahel region now accounts for 'over half of all terrorism-related deaths', positioning the country as the 'epicentre of global terrorism'. The report further cites Burkina Faso as the number one ranked on its index list, overtaking Afghanistan and Iraq. To that end, since 2024, almost 2 000 people were killed in terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso, accounting for nearly a quarter of all terrorist deaths globally. Terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso have also increased every year since 2014, with terrorism also surging in its neighbours, Mali and Niger. In 2022, Burkina Faso endured its second coup in eight months, with Captain Ibrahim Traoré overthrowing his ally Paul Henri Damiba, who had himself seized power from democratically elected President Roch Kaboré. To understand the unending coups in Burkina Faso, ABC Australia turned to Al Jazeera's West Africa correspondent, Nicolas Haque, for answers. The pressing question was: 'Who's behind the spate of coups in West Africa? Haque characterised the ousting of Kaboré as a coup in waiting, due to the instability of the country, years after Burkina Faso dictator Blaise Compaoré was ousted in 2014. Haque also documents how a generation of men and boy children has been lost in the country as slums are filled with women and girl children. Burkina boys and men are either dead or conscripted into militias like the volunteers for the defence of the homeland (VDP) led by Traore. Secular education has also been banned to enforce extreme sharia law, where children are only taught the Quran, and in worst cases, girl children are denied an opportunity to go to school. Such reportage by Nicolas Haque and his peers is a constant reminder of how a free press remains a cornerstone of democracies globally because if not for outlets such as Al Jazeera, the BBC and others, atrocities in terror and coup-prone Sahel region will remain unknown. Reports also indicate that civilian deaths in Burkina Faso have doubled. It is quite evident that more voices need to be amplified to enforce the Kampala convention in Burkina Faso, where governance has been absent for decades. Human rights organisations such as the Norwegian Refugee Council continue to expose how Burkina Faso is the world's worst and most neglected displacement crisis, with over 2 million people displaced and 6.3 million facing acute hunger. Similarly, ECO financial agency, has reported how as children starve, the military governments of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger spent a combined $2.4 billion (R43bn) on their armed forces in 2024. South Africa, which is the largest economy in Africa, dropped its defence spending for the fourth year in a row, falling 6.3% to $2.8 billion and instead focused on boosting economic growth and improving social services. The Alliance of Sahel States which consists of military led governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger has diverted the limited national reserves of their countries to China and Russia giving this country's mineral concessions to fund militarisation of their countries. The Russian Mercenary and Military Industrial Complex is the new coloniser in Africa. Russia has tightened its grip in the Sahel Region using private military companies that thrive in undemocratic regimes and the militarisation of despondent Africans. Leaving millions of African children out of schools, healthcare systems crippled, and thousands of Burkinabe people on the brink of famine. In May 2025, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres strongly condemned the attacks on civilians by the militia. These attacks are consistent and also include the abduction of women and girl children. TikTok videos glorify Traore as a revolutionary who will save Africa, but civilians in towns such as Djibo are starving and eating leaves. Traore-backed regimes backed by the Russian Wagner Group and Africa Corps hide massacres such as the recent Solenzo massacre, where 100 Fulani civilians were slaughtered by this Traore-backed militia. As expected, the value of Russia's gold reserves has surged by 72% since the beginning of 2022, while the country's Mercenary industrial complex has opened new markets for Russia's military-industrial complex. This symbiotic relationship between Russia and Africa's military junta reveals a disturbing reality: Africa's instability is now a strategic asset for Russia. Russia is giving African countries more arms to buy rather than direct investments to build new infrastructure and invest in education and public amenities. Russia's military diplomacy in Africa must be condemned no less than we condemn the West, as anyone who funds Africans to kill each other is not an ally but an enemy. Especially if the end game is to profit. As reported by the United Nations Refugee Agency, over 1.6 million Sahelian children face malnutrition and are displaced. Russia's exploitation of Africa for extractive purposes must be condemned, and we must defend our hard-earned democracies throughout the continent. The greatest crime by Russia's Wagner Group, Africa Corp, and Russian companies is not just stealing Africa's minerals or popularising Coups and dictators through social media, it is weaponising our anti-colonial struggle against the West to justify their resource plunder and arming one brother against. As Africa Month comes to an end, let's take heed of the enduring words of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, who said: 'What do you think is going to happen in the Second Scramble for Africa? In the second scramble for Africa, no imperialist power is going to fight another imperialist power for the control of Africa. This time, one imperialist power is going to arm one African nation, and another imperialist power is going to arm another African nation; and an African brother is going to slaughter another African brother, not in the interests of Africa, but in the interests of the imperialists, both old and new! 'I believe, therefore, that the poor countries of the world should be very careful not to allow themselves to be used as 'tools' of any of the rich countries. However much the rich countries may seek to fool them that they are on their side! And don't forget that the rich countries of the world today may be found on both sides of the division between 'Capitalist' and 'Socialist' countries.' What is happening in Burkina Faso is therefore not a Revolution but grand-scale looting by the East through well-managed and well-funded Public Relations. * Phapano Phasha is the chairperson of The Centre for Alternative Political and Economic Thought. ** The views expressed here do not reflect those of the Sunday Independent, IOL, or Independent Media.
Arab Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Arab Times
Gunmen kill 20 in north-central Nigeria over the weekend: local authorities
ABUJA, Nigeria, May 28, (AP): Gunmen killed at least 20 people during an attack on a village in Nigeria's north-central Benue state over the weekend, a local official said. The attack took place on Sunday in the village of Aondona in the Gwer West area of the state, the local government chairman, Ormin Torsar Victor, said in a video on his Facebook page on Monday. The graphic video showed what appeared to be three corpses on the ground, including a young child. Benue state police spokesperson Anene Sewuese confirmed to The Associated Press that a weekend attack took place in Gwer West, but said only four people were killed, including a police officer who was responding to the raid. Nigerian police authorities often provide lower death tolls than local authorities and witnesses when reporting on attacks. While it remains unclear who was responsible for the killings, such attacks are common in Nigeria's northern region where local herders and farmers often clash over limited access to land and water. The farmers accuse the herders, mostly of Fulani origin, of grazing their livestock on their farms and destroying their produce. The herders insist that the lands are grazing routes that were first backed by law in 1965, five years after the country gained its independence. The governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, called the attack a "heinous act' and "a stark reminder of the pervasive violence and lawlessness' that have plagued the region in recent times in a statement on Sunday. Last month, gunmen, believed to be herders, killed at least 40 people in north-central Nigeria.
