Over 20 killed in Nigeria attack

Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - More than 20 people, mostly women and children, were killed when unknown gunmen invaded many villages in Barakin-Ladi and some parts of the Riyom Local Government Areas of Nigeria's northern Plateau state Saturday, the local media reported.

The gunmen, numbering over 100, stormed the villages of Berom, Kakuruk, Kuzen, Ngyo, kogoduk, Ruk, Dogo, Kufang, Kpapkpiduk, Kai in Barakin-Ladi in the early hours of the day, shooting anyone they could see.

Those killed by the gunmen, who reportedly wore army uniform and were armed with sophisticated weapons, also included two policemen.

It was the latest in a spate of tit-for-tat killings between the so-called settlers in the state, who are mostly Hausa-Fulani herdsmen, and the predominantly-Christian indigenes over increasingly scarce natural resources.

The troops deployed to the state to help restore peace, under the military Joint Task Force (JTF), have not succeeded in halting the internecine attacks.
-0- PANA SEG 8July2012