Nineteen Nigerian Christians are now known to have died in an attack by Fulani militants on the village of Kwatas, in Plateau State, on Sunday 26 January.
Villagers were taking part in a social gathering when the militants struck at around 7 p.m. in a relentless assault that continued into the early hours of the following day. One family lost two of its members in the attack.
A Barnabas Fund contact said it is thought the attack was carried out by the Fulani in revenge for the arrest of seven people suspected of involvement in an earlier murderous assault on Kombun village . Thirteen young Christian men were killed in Kombun on 11 January as they tried to protect their community and stop their cattle being stolen by marauding Fulani gunmen.
The villages are in the neighbouring local government areas of Mangu and Bokkos, which have seen an upsurge in violence recently. “They have come under serious attacks in the past two years which has led to the destruction of lives, houses and the loss of farmland,” said our contact.
From Barnabas Fund contacts
