At least 30 Christians were killed in an attack on their village in Kaduna State in Nigeria on Sunday. Truth Nigeria reports the number of killed actually exceeds 60 people, citing multiple attacks.
According to International Christian Concern (ICC), gunmen entered the village of Naridon and began firing on people inside their homes. They also set several houses on fire as people fled into the fields.
A ministry called Building Zion reports the attacks continued for many hours without any response from security or government forces, stretching into the early morning.
“Every month, we bury our people,” Rt. Hon. Stephen Hajara, spokesperson for the Kauru Local Government Legislative Council, told ICC. “Last month, we buried 11 people, including children; now, another mass burial of 30. Enough is enough, please! Please come to our aid!”
Some community members described the attackers as suspected ethnic Fulani militants.
“The same community was attacked last year around this time,” said Derek Christopher, chairman of the civil society group Southern Kaduna Peace and Security Network. He suggests that the government has abandoned any intention of protecting the area from attacks by armed groups. “I don’t know who these people have left to fight for them,” he said.
CBN News spoke with Alex Barbir, founder of Building Zion, who has traveled to the most ravaged villages in Nigeria to help Christians rebuild their destroyed homes and communities. Here’s what he told us about this latest group of attacks:
Local government leaders are calling for security agencies to find and arrest the gunmen, but critics say little is being done overall to curb the reign of terror perpetrated by Fulani militants in Kaduna State.
Along with the Fulani and other bandits, Nigeria is also plagued by an insurgency fought by the Boko Haram Islamic extremist group and its splinter faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province.
Last year, the U.S. launched an attack against Islamic State terrorists on Dec. 25, with the cooperation of the Nigerian government, but that occurred in a different part of Nigeria.
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