Men
clad in police uniforms and armed with Russian-built automatic weapons
shot dead at least 20 worshippers when they stormed into a mosque in
North-Central Nigeria, Kaduna on Sunday.
According to Nigerian media, the men stormed into the mosque located in the village of Dogon just before sunrise and begun firing indiscriminately killing those inside and outside.
The military officials have said that robbery seems to be the motive for the killings. The village in recent past has seen wave of sectarian violence.
“It is a clear case of armed robbery,” Lieutenant Colonel Sani Usman told AFP, confirming the shooting. “The last time I spoke with my (contact) in the area, he said it was 20 people dead.”
Kaduna has witnessed waves of sectarian violence in recent months.
Suicide bombings at three churches in June that were claimed by Islamist group Boko Haram sparked reprisal violence by Christian mobs who killed dozens of their Muslim neighbors, burning some of their victims’ bodies.
Muslim groups also formed mobs and killed several Christians.
Usman however told AFP that the latest attack was linked to a running feud between a group of “bandits” and a vigilante group in Dogon Dawa.
The thieves had tried to rob some residents earlier in the week but were repelled, he said, adding that the robbers returned to the village on Sunday and carried out what he termed a “revenge” attack.
Asked about a potential religious element in the shootings, he said only that “the victims were coming from prayers” at the mosque.
Village resident Dauda Maikudi told AFP that thieves regularly target the area as Dogon Dawa falls along a main road frequently used by traders carrying goods and cash between the north and south of Africa’s most populous country.
“It was a pre-dawn raid,” he said. “The attackers…, some of them dressed in police uniform, came into the village. They killed eight worshippers in the mosque and killed 13 other residents in the village.”
“We believe they were armed robbers because this area has been bedeviled with armed robbers for years,” he added.
Maikudi’s higher death toll and details of the gunmen’s clothing could not be immediately confirmed by the security services.
According to Nigerian media, the men stormed into the mosque located in the village of Dogon just before sunrise and begun firing indiscriminately killing those inside and outside.
The military officials have said that robbery seems to be the motive for the killings. The village in recent past has seen wave of sectarian violence.
“It is a clear case of armed robbery,” Lieutenant Colonel Sani Usman told AFP, confirming the shooting. “The last time I spoke with my (contact) in the area, he said it was 20 people dead.”
Kaduna has witnessed waves of sectarian violence in recent months.
Suicide bombings at three churches in June that were claimed by Islamist group Boko Haram sparked reprisal violence by Christian mobs who killed dozens of their Muslim neighbors, burning some of their victims’ bodies.
Muslim groups also formed mobs and killed several Christians.
Usman however told AFP that the latest attack was linked to a running feud between a group of “bandits” and a vigilante group in Dogon Dawa.
The thieves had tried to rob some residents earlier in the week but were repelled, he said, adding that the robbers returned to the village on Sunday and carried out what he termed a “revenge” attack.
Asked about a potential religious element in the shootings, he said only that “the victims were coming from prayers” at the mosque.
Village resident Dauda Maikudi told AFP that thieves regularly target the area as Dogon Dawa falls along a main road frequently used by traders carrying goods and cash between the north and south of Africa’s most populous country.
“It was a pre-dawn raid,” he said. “The attackers…, some of them dressed in police uniform, came into the village. They killed eight worshippers in the mosque and killed 13 other residents in the village.”
“We believe they were armed robbers because this area has been bedeviled with armed robbers for years,” he added.
Maikudi’s higher death toll and details of the gunmen’s clothing could not be immediately confirmed by the security services.
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