Local authorities reported that at least 38 people were killed in a shooting by armed men in the village of Dutse Dan Ajiya in Zamfara state in northwestern Nigeria.The attack took place on the night of Thursday to Friday in a remote village that officials said had “virtually no access routes,” AFP reported.“Currently, normalcy has returned to the area,” Zamfara police spokesman Yazid Abubakar said.Local councilor Hamisu Faru put the death toll at 50, saying: “The bandits came from the Gando forest. They laid siege to Dutse Dan Ajiya, shot indiscriminately and killed all residents who tried to escape.”Armed groups known locally as “bandits” operate in the forests of Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, Sokoto, Kebbi and Niger states, carrying out attacks on villages. Nigerian troops have been deployed to the region for years to combat the groups, but attacks have continued.Violence by bandits and jihadist groups has increased in recent months, drawing international attention, AFP reported. The United States has described much of the violence as a “persecution” of Christians and carried out surprise airstrikes in Sokoto state on Christmas Day in coordination with Nigerian authorities.Nigeria’s jihadist insurgency, led primarily by Boko Haram and its rival faction Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced 2 million in the northeast since 2009, according to the United Nations.
