A Nigerian mining site attack claimed at least 12 lives, according to a group
Gunmen stormed a mining site in Atoso village in Nigeria’s unstable Plateau state on Wednesday, killing at least 12 people and kidnapping three more, according to a local group leader.
The leader of the Berom Youth Moulders-Association (BYM), Dalyop Solomon Mwantiri, stated that five more people were hospitalized with bullet wounds after the attackers, whom locals recognized as armed Fulani militias, struck late on Tuesday.
Investigations were in progress, according to Alfred Alabo, a police spokesperson.
The most recent attack highlights the ongoing instability on the Plateau, a hot spot in Nigeria’s unstable Middle Belt area where fatal farmer-herder conflicts have long been driven by ethnic and religious conflict. The government has often promised to bring peace, yet violence continues to rise.
According to Mwantiri, the incident on Tuesday occurred just days after four children were killed in a nearby community, and he accused the government of failing to observe early warning signs. The BYM is pleading with the government to increase the number of security personnel in order to prevent open grazing and save the victims who have been kidnapped.
