Gunmen Kill at Least 15 in Northwest Nigeria Farming Community

Gunmen attacked a farming community in the Talata Mafara area of Zamfara state on Friday, killing at least 15 people. An official said the assault took place in a region that has experienced recurring violence. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Yari, a lawmaker representing the district, described the assault as a “terrorist attack” in a statement on social media. Yahaya Yari, the elected local government chairman for the area, appeared in a video during the victims’ funeral on Friday evening and appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the junior defense minister to intervene.

Earlier this month, gunmen killed 17 farmers and wounded at least 13 others in another part of Zamfara state. An insurgency in northern Nigeria has killed thousands and displaced millions over the years, according to the United Nations. Armed gangs that kidnap for ransom, tax farming communities, and engage in illegal mining operate in the north-central and northwest parts of the country.

Nigeria entered into a military cooperation agreement with the U.S. last year after a diplomatic dispute in which U.S. officials asserted that a “Christian genocide” was taking place; Nigeria’s government rejected the accusation.