Nigeria (International Christian Concern) — Gunmen wielding AK-47s and machetes killed 42 Christians and burned dozens of houses near Mangu in Nigeria’s Plateau State.
The attackers – suspected to be Fulani militants – raided at least 11 communities from midnight to dawn early Tuesday in Nigeria’ north-central region about 55 miles from the capital, Jos.
Plateau State Governor-elect Barr. Caleb Mutfwang condemned the Fulani militants and called on the federal government to do more to help secure the state.
Mangu County has faced multiple attacks by the Fulani militants this year. More than 60 Christians were killed in the district after Mutfwang and his Peoples Democratic Party prevailed in the March election. The lawyer and politician is a former Chairman of Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Mutfwang described the attacks as “ethnic cleansing.” Radical Islamic Fulani militias have targeted the mostly Christian farming communities – more than 50,000 Christians have been killed and millions displaced over the past 20 years. Others say a growing scarcity of farmland for the nomadic Fulani herders contributes to the attacks and conflict.
The Plateau State government imposed a curfew on the community to stop people from traveling. Witnesses say the Fulani, however, often get a free pass by government and military leaders who are tied to and mostly sympathetic with the Fulani.