Nigeria ethnic violence

In central Nigeria’s Plateau State, at least 86 people were killed over June 23 and 24 in clashes between Muslim herders and Christian farmers.

According to authorities, the herders, members of the Fulani ethnic group, attacked farming villages in the night while the inhabitants slept, setting fire to buildings and firing on the occupants. In response, villagers in the area, who are ethnically Berom, set up roadblocks and attacked anyone suspected of being Fulani.

Conflicts over land in the central agricultural region of Nigeria have been taking place for years between the two groups as farms have expanded into land traditionally used by herders to graze their flocks. Tensions have recently escalated, as herders have had to abandon grazing areas in northeastern Nigeria due to activities of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.