Armed attackers have caused the deaths of at least 38 individuals in Dutse Dan Ajiya village, located in Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria, as confirmed by local authorities and police officers speaking to AFP on Saturday.
The incident took place during the night from Thursday to Friday in the isolated village, which has limited access points, stated Yazid Abubakar, the spokesperson for Zamfara police, noting that the situation has now returned to normal in the area.
A local lawmaker, Hamisu Faru, reported a death toll of 50 from the assault, attributing the violence to bandits emerging from Gando forest. These assailants besieged Dutse Dan Ajiya, firing indiscriminately and targeting any residents attempting to escape.
Operating from forests spanning Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Niger states, criminal groups known as “bandits” conduct raids on villages in the region.
Despite the Nigerian military’s prolonged presence in the area to combat these factions, the cycle of violence persists.
The escalation of attacks by jihadist factions and criminal elements in Nigeria has recently captured the United States’ attention.
Washington, portraying much of the unrest as targeting Christians, executed surprise airstrikes in coordination with Nigerian forces on Sokoto State in the north on Christmas Day.
Since 2009, the jihadist insurgency in Nigeria, primarily led by Boko Haram and its rival faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has resulted in over 40,000 fatalities and displaced two million individuals in the country’s northeast, as reported by the UN.
