..Burn Houses In Zamfara
No fewer than 200 villagers have been allegedly killed while many houses were set ablazed at Rafin Danya, Barayar Zaki, Rafin Gero and Kurfa villages in Anka and Bukkuyum local government areas of Zamfara State.
According to survivors of the attacks, scores of villagers who managed to escape fled while some others remain missing.
It was learnt that the bandits, in their large numbers, were fleeing from Zamfara State as a result of ongoing military operations, when they invaded the villages.
According to report, a survivor, said trouble started when vigilantes in the villages tried to confront the terrorists, who were fleeing Zamfara State with cattle numbering not less than 3,000.
The source noted that the vigilantes engaged the terrorists in a gun battle, leading to the invasion.
Another survivor and resident of Bukkuyum said the attack, which started on Tuesday went on till Thursday.
While another resident of Anka Aliyu Anka, stated, “They killed people from 20 years and above.
“Some have been buried, some were burnt and we are still looking for bodies.”
The report also revealed that, a resident said that the terrorists were still around and refused to allow families of the affected people to bury their dead, noting that there were no presence of security operatives in the affected villages, making the villagers to continue to flee their homes.
“We made several attempts to evacuate the dead bodies for burial but due to the presence of the bandits who have invaded the areas, we could not go,” Said Sani.
Confirming the incident was the State Commissioner of Police Commissioner, Ayuba Elkana, who said, he was compiling the number of those who were killed during the attack.
Elkana explained why villagers cannot evacuate and bury their dead, noting that it was dangerous to go to those areas due to heavy presence of the terrorists who he confirmed were in large numbers.
“Nobody will risk his life to go to those areas because the bandits are there in large numbers,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Information, Zamfara State, Ibrahim Dosara who blame informants for the deadly attacks told AP that government was awaiting more information about the incident, including the number of casualties.
Dosara affirmed that a military aircraft had been deployed along with security forces as a manhunt for the attackers continued.
“One of the serious problems is that we have a lot of informants getting information to these people (the terrorists. The moment you strategise, the moment the enemies also strategise”
