An attack by Fulani
herders on farmers in central Nigeria, the latest violence over grazing rights
in the region, has left one dead, one missing and two injured, police said
Tuesday. Benue state police spokesman Moses Yamu said the farmers were attacked
early on Monday on their way to their farms near the border with Taraba state.
“Yesterday at about 0830 hours, four persons were attacked by suspected Fulani
herdsmen at Tse-Adayol in Logo local government area. One was killed, one
missing and two injured and currently receiving treatment,” Yamu told AFP.
Local media however gave a higher toll, saying at least 10 people were killed
in the violence, the latest in a long-running battle between herders and local
farmers in the region. On July 11, state officials told AFP scores of villagers
were killed in the area following weeks of clashes while the independent
television channels put the toll at 81.
In February, hundreds of people were
said to have been killed and about 1,000 homes destroyed in the Agatu area of
the state in a wave of attacks blamed on the Fulani.
Those attacks appeared to
be in revenge for the death of a Fulani leader and the theft of his cattle,
which was blamed on the Agatu people. President Muhammadu Buhari, a northern
Muslim, has proposed the creation of grazing land to prevent further clashes
but Fulani groups say in Benue the government has opposed the plan.
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