By Ahmed Kingimi and Hamza Ibrahim
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, July 28 (Reuters) – At least 14 villagers were killed and several others injured in an attack in Nigeria’s Benue state on Tuesday, a local official said, extending a cycle of violence in the country’s central belt linked to land and resource disputes.
Benue is a hotspot for violence between farmers and herders, with hundreds killed in recent years as farmers attack the cattle that destroy crops and herders attacking the villages.
The latest attack occurred in Efeyi village in Benue state’s Otukpo area early on Tuesday, with gunmen killing 14 people and wounded several others, Otukpo council chairman Maxwell Ogiri told Reuters.
Ogiri blamed the attack on Fulani militia, saying the assailants struck without warning and that similar incidents had occurred in nearby communities in recent days.
Fulanis are nomadic herders from the Muslim north of Nigeria, while farmers are mostly from Christian communities.
Fulani associations have rejected such accusations of attacks in the past. No group claimed responsibility.
Benue police spokesperson Udeme Edet said officers had been deployed to the affected area and an investigation was under way.
(Additional reporting by Hamza Ibrahim in Kano; Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Alison Williams)
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