At least 10 people were killed and houses burnt, after a deadly clash between suspected bandits and residents in Talli, Dutsin Gari, and Rayau villages in Kanoma district, Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
According to Daily Trust, residents recounted that armed men on motorbikes stormed Dutsen Gari community with the intention to kidnap people, but met a fierce resistance from villagers who were already prepared.
Consequently, gunfight ensued between the villagers and the armed bandits, which was said to occur for hours before the attackers were forced to flee.
The assailants were said to have proceeded to Rayau village and fought the residents there.
“The armed men killed some prominent leaders of local vigilante groups there and carted away animals. Some of the residents in the communities who had earlier fled for fear of reprisal attack from the bandits had their houses torched by the attackers,” a resident was quoted as saying.
An eyewitness also told BBC Hausa Service on the phone that the bandits invaded the two towns on Monday.
“We pursued them to the bush,” the villager stated.
He also said members of the community decided to take action and followed the bandits to the bush where they were living.
“They just entered our villages shooting sporadically at people.
“We don’t have guns but we carried what we had and followed them to the bush to protect ourselves but they continued shooting people.
“They killed more than ten people.
“So far, we have seven of their corpses with us and we have to go to the bush and bring the remaining,” he added.
He explained that soldiers came after the attack and left without doing anything.
Abubakr Dauran, the state commissioner of security and home affairs, said he received the report of the attack and sent security personnel to the area.
