Armed persons for several hours late Saturday attacked 15 communities in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital, killing at least seven people. Residents said the attacks started from late on Saturday, Christmas Day, to the early hours of Sunday.
Apart from the people killed, at least 33 women were kidnapped by the
armed bandits, the residents said.
The villages attacked include Geba, Kura, Duma, Gana, Tsakuwa, Gidan
Kada and Gidan Kaura.
The residents said most of the villages were deserted on Sunday evening
for fear of more attacks with residents taking refuge in Damba Estate in
the state capital.
The Zamfara State Commissioner for Information, Ibrahim Dosara,
confirmed the attacks but said security agents chased the bandits away
from the villages.
The police have yet to react to the latest attacks.
Zamfara is one of the states most affected by banditry in Northern
Nigeria with terror groups attacking communities at will. Other states
are Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger.
Thousands of people have been killed or kidnapped this year by the
bandits despite the heavy deployment of security operatives to the area.
