Fresh violence kills 12 in central Nigeria

Fresh violence kills 12 in central Nigeria

2011-09-11 04:02:11 GMT+7 (ICT)

ABUJA (BNO NEWS) -- At least 12 people, including seven young siblings, have been killed as a result of renewed sectarian violence in central Nigeria, local media reported on Saturday.

Fulani herdsmen reportedly stormed a village in Barakin-Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State on early Friday and shot an entire family from the Berom local tribe at close range, the Tribune newspaper reported. Nine people were killed, including seven children between the ages of three to six.

Another group of Fulani herdsmen carried out a similar attack in Kunzin village where three people were killed. A community leader, Emmanuel Loman, described the incident 'as ethnic cleansing and genocide.'

The United Nations (UN) on Friday called on Nigeria to urgently address ethnic and religious violence which has left hundreds of people killed in recent weeks alone. According to reports, more than 80 people have been killed as a result of recent clashes between Christian and Muslim youths and the military in the city of Jos. In addition, at least two more were hacked to death in a nearby village.

In January 2010, around 1,000 people were killed during clashes between Muslim and Christian ethnic groups in the city of Jos.

Nigeria has also been struggling with violent extremist Islamic groups in its northeastern region. A suicide bomber recently struck a three-story United Nations building in Abuja, killing 23 people and injuring more than 80 others.

The Islamic group Boko Haram, which has been blamed by Nigerian officials for most of the region's terrorist attacks, claimed responsibility for the attack. The group, whose name translates to 'Western religion is sacrilegious', seeks the imposition of an extremist stance of the Shariah law, which is a Muslim code of conduct.

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