The attacks came in the night, as the villagers slept. Hundreds of Muslim herdsmen armed with guns and machetes swooped down on three Christian villages outside Jos in central Nigeria, killing more than 120 people early Sunday, according to witnesses.
There were contradictory reports on the casualties. Some said more than 120 were killed, while others put the number at about 200.
The massacre in volatile Plateau state -- long beset with ethnic-religious violence -- was apparently a revenge attack. Nomadic Fulani herdsmen had accused a group of local indigenous Christians -- Berom people -- of attacking their camp late last month, killing four people and stealing about 200 cattle.
LATimes
These religiously fueled bouts of violence continue to plague this region. This plateau area is a point of intersection between Muslim herdsmen, and Christian farmers and recently has been a . The Jos region has been fraught with violence as land right issues continually reignite the tensions. This most recent massacre has been the target of condemnation by the UN, which I'm glad to see.
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