Nigeria: At least 38 killed after armed 'bandits' open fire in Zamfara village

At least 38 people were killed in the village of Dutse Dan Ajiya in northwestern Nigeria’s Zamfara State after armed men opened fire, local authorities reported.The attack occurred overnight from Thursday into Friday in the remote village, which officials said has “few access routes", AFP reported.“Right now, normalcy has been restored in the area,” said Yazid Abubakar, spokesperson for the Zamfara police.Hamisu Faru, a local legislator, put the death toll at 50, saying, “The bandits came from Gando forest. They laid siege on Dutse Dan Ajiya and opened indiscriminate fire, killing any resident who tried to flee.”Armed groups, locally referred to as “bandits,” operate from forests spanning Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Niger State, from where they carry out attacks on villages. The Nigerian army has deployed to the region for years to combat these groups, but attacks continue.According to news agency AFP, recent months have seen a rise in violence from both bandits and jihadist groups, drawing international attention. The United States, which has described much of the violence as “persecution” of Christians, conducted surprise airstrikes on Christmas Day in coordination with Nigerian authorities in Sokoto State.Since 2009, Nigeria’s jihadist insurgency, primarily led by Boko Haram and its rival faction, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP)—has killed over 40,000 people and displaced two million in the northeast, according to the UN.