Latest news with #Yelewata
Times of Oman
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Times of Oman
Nigeria: Gunmen kill at least 100 in Benue state
Abuja: Gunmen killed at least 100 people in the Yelewata village in Nigeria's Benue state late on Friday, Amnesty International Nigeria said. "Many people are still injured and left without adequate medical care. Many families were locked up and burnt inside their bedrooms," the human rights organization said in a social media post. Police spokesperson Udeme Edet from Benue confirmed the attack but did not specify the death toll. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack. Governor of Benue state Hyacinth Alia sent a delegation to Yelewata to provide support to the relatives of the victims. Visuals circulated on social media showed burnt houses and corpses. Benue state lies in Nigeria's Middle Belt, in the center of the Muslim-majority north and the Christian-majority south. The region often sees violence over access to land and water resources between farmers and herders, worsened by ethnic and religious tensions. Violence in the region has claimed 500 lives since 2019, and displaced thousands of others, as per data by Nigerian geopolitcal research consultancy SBM Intelligence. Last month, gunmen believed to be herders killed at least 20 in the Gwer West district in Benue. In April, 40 were killed in in the nearby state of Plateau.
Sky News
a day ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Nigeria: At least 100 killed in gun attack in Benue state village, Amnesty International claims
At least 100 people have been killed in a gun attack in a village in north-central Nigeria, Amnesty International has claimed. The human rights group's branch in Nigeria said the attack occurred between Friday evening and Saturday morning in Yelewata, a community in the Guma area of Benue state. "Many families were locked up and burnt inside their bedrooms," the group said in a post on X. "So many bodies were burnt beyond recognition." It said hundreds of people were injured and were without adequate medical care, while dozens of others were missing. A police spokesperson in Benue confirmed that an attack took place in Yelewata but did not specify how many people had died. Amnesty noted in a statement that there had been an "alarming escalation of attacks across Benue state where gunmen have been on a killing spree with utter impunity". "The Nigerian authorities' failure to stem the violence is costing people's lives and livelihoods, and without immediate action many more lives may be lost," it added. Last month, gunmen, believed to be herders, killed at least 20 people in the Gwer West area of Benue. In April, at least 40 people were killed in the neighbouring state of Plateau. Benue is in Nigeria's 'middle belt', a region where the majority Muslim north meets the largely Christian south. Attacks are common in Nigeria's northern regions, where local herders and farmers often clash over limited access to land and water. 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.
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Politics
- Bloomberg
At Least 100 People Killed by Gunmen in Nigeria, Rights Group Says
Politics By Updated on Save ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 100 people have been killed in a gun attack on a village in Nigeria 's north-central Benue state, Amnesty International Nigeria said Saturday. The attack took place between late Friday and the early hours of Saturday in Yelewata, a community in the Guma area of the state, the rights group said in a Facebook post.
Reuters
a day ago
- Reuters
Gunmen kill at least 100 people in Nigeria's Benue state, Amnesty International says
June 14 (Reuters) - At least 100 people have been killed in an attack by gunmen on a village in Nigeria's central Benue state, Amnesty International Nigeria said Saturday. The attack took place from late Friday into the early hours of Saturday in the village of Yelewata, the group said in a post on social media platform X. "Many people are still injured and left without adequate medical care. Many families were locked up and burnt inside their bedrooms," the post added. Benue is in Nigeria's Middle Belt, a region where the majority Muslim North meets the largely Christian South. The region faces competition over land use, with conflicts between herders, who seek grazing land for their cattle, and farmers, who need arable land for cultivation. These tensions are often worsened by overlapping ethnic and religious divisions. Last month, at least 42 people were shot dead by suspected herders in a series of weekend attacks across Gwer West district in Nigeria's central Benue state. Since 2019, the clashes have claimed more than 500 lives in the region and forced 2.2 million to leave their homes, according to research firm SBM Intelligence.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Washington Post
At least 100 people killed by gunmen in north-central Nigeria, rights group says
ABUJA, Nigeria — At least 100 people have been killed in a gun attack on a village in Nigeria's north-central Benue state, Amnesty International Nigeria said Saturday. The attack took place between late Friday and the early hours of Saturday in Yelewata, a community in the Guma area of the state, the rights group said in a Facebook post. Dozens of people are still missing, and hundreds were injured and without adequate medical care, it added. 'Many families were locked up and burnt inside their bedrooms. So many bodies were burnt beyond recognition,' Amnesty said. Udeme Edet, a spokesperson of the police in Benue, confirmed that an attack took place in Yelewata, but did not specify how many people were killed. 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. Last month, gunmen, believed to be herders, killed at least 20 people in the Gwer West area of Benue. In April, at least 40 people were killed in the neighbouring state of Plateau.
