Gunmen stormed a village in northwestern Nigeria, killing 20 people, police said on Wednesday, blaming the attack on criminal gangs in the volatile region.
The
"bandits"
as the local population called them, arrived on motorbikes, opened fire on the inhabitants of Tungar Kwana in the state of Zamfara (north), according to Mohammed Shehu, a police spokesman.
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Armed gangs, sometimes several hundred strong, have spread terror for several years in rural areas of central and northwestern Nigeria, practicing on a large scale cattle rustling and kidnappings for ransom.
Last week, residents informed security forces of the whereabouts of the cattle thieves, according to Mohammed Shehu.
"Since then, the bandits have attacked the villagers to avenge the death of their comrades,"
he added.
These
"bandits"
are hiding in camps in the vast Rugu forest which covers the states of Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger, from where they launch their attacks.