Bloody weekend: At least 18 people die in two separate attacks in Nigeria

by Rachel Ogbu

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Two sets of violence in Bayelsa and Adamawa states have left about 18 people dead.

Eight former militants were shot dead in Bayelsa State during a clash between rivals gangs and in Adamawa state, an attack on Njilang Village, early on Sunday left 10 people dead, four of whom were Christians attacked in a church.

The state police spokesman, Mohammed Ibrahim said: “Unknown gunmen went into the village this morning and attacked a market square where they killed six people and then proceeded to a church where they shot dead four others.”

According to reports, nine people were wounded in the attacks in the small farming village, 230 kilometres (145 miles) from the state capital Yola, Ibrahim said.

Just before the police arrived, the attackers in the north were said to have fled into the bush, across the border into Cameroon

PM News reports:

Ibrahim did not say if the gunmen were resident in Cameroon.

Ibrahim also declined to say whether he thought Boko Haram Islamists who have carried out a series of bomb and gun attacks in the area were responsible, although criminal gangs have carried out similar attacks under the cover of the Islamist group.

In December last year, the Islamists launched coordinated bomb and gun attacks on a police station and government buildings in the area, killing several people, including policemen, and freeing suspects in custody.

Global rights watchdog Human Rights Watch said last week the insurgency in north and central Nigeria by Boko Haram has claimed 3,600 lives since 2009, including killings by the security forces.

 

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