Abuja, Nigeria — Gunmen killed at least 15 people Tuesday when they attacked two villages in northwestern Nigeria, officials said.
According to the state Commissioner for Home Affairs, Nasir Mu’azu, the villages of Falale and Kadobe – neighboring communities in the Jibia area of Katsina state – were attacked in the afternoon.
Mu’azu said local security forces had earlier killed three gunmen during a shootout in the area. In retaliation, gunmen retaliated on Tuesday, killing at least 15 people.
“Security forces have restored order and stabilized the situation,” he said in a statement. “We appeal to residents to remain calm and allow security forces to complete their investigations.”
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Armed groups, known as ‘bandits’, regularly carry out raids and kidnap for ransom in the north-west and north-central part of Nigeria.
Authorities have said the bandit groups consist mostly of former herders who took up arms against farming communities. clashes between them Pressure on rapidly increasing resources.
As well as bandit attacks, Nigeria is also plagued by an insurgency fought by the Boko Haram extremist group and its splinter group, Islamic State West Africa Province. Both groups are mostly active in north-eastern Nigeria.
Suspected suicide bombings took place on Monday At least 23 people were killed and 108 others were injured In the northeastern city of Maiduguri.
The security crisis in Africa’s most populous country has recently worsened with the involvement of other militants from the neighboring Sahel region, including Jamaat Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimeen, which claimed its first attack on Nigerian soil last year.
According to UN figures, several thousand people have died in Nigeria. Analysts say the government is not taking enough steps to protect its citizens.
America sent army last month to help the West African nation advise its military in the fight against insecurity.
