Convoy of pro-government fighters was coming back from a funeral after they got here beneath fireplace from bandits in Katsina State.
At the very least 21 government-backed fighters have been killed in an ambush by bandits in Nigeria’s northwest Katsina State, in keeping with authorities.
Katsina police spokesman Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu advised the AFP information company on Saturday {that a} convoy of pro-government fighters was coming back from paying condolences to the household of a useless colleague when it got here beneath fireplace from bandits within the village of Baure, within the Safana district.
“Sadly, 21 individuals have been fatally shot because of the assault,” Aliyu mentioned, including police have been searching for to “make sure the arrest of the perpetrators” of the assault, which occurred on Tuesday.
Witnesses, nonetheless, advised Nigeria’s Premium Occasions that as many as 25 individuals have been killed within the assault, whereas many extra villagers stay lacking.
Nigeria’s The Guardian mentioned the fighters have been members of the state-backed Katsina Group Watch Corps (KCWC).
The newspaper additionally quoted Aliyu as saying police have been deployed to the realm of the assault to assist restore order.
Katsina is certainly one of a number of states in northwestern and central Nigeria suffering from bandits who raid villages, killing and abducting residents in addition to burning and looting houses.
In June 2024, at the very least seven individuals have been killed and 100 kidnapped when gunmen attacked a rural neighborhood within the state.
The gangs, who keep camps in an enormous forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states, have earned notoriety for mass kidnappings of scholars from faculties lately.
Nigeria’s Boko Haram group has additionally carried out assaults and abductions within the state.
In 2023, Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda established the KCWC drive comprising about 2,000 individuals to help the army and police in combating the gangs.
