- Sectarian violence in the Middle Belt of Nigeria increased significantly in the year 2018
- The violence is said to have eclipsed the Boko Haram conflict
- There have been 1,041 sectarian-related deaths in all of 2017
A report based on an analysis by Nigeria Security Tracker (NST) data has revealed that sectarian violence in the Middle Belt of Nigeria increased significantly in the year 2018.
According to the report, the violence is said to have eclipsed the Boko Haram conflictand almost doubled since 2017.
The NST documented 1,949 deaths through October 2018, compared to 1,041 sectarian-related deaths in all of 2017.
The violence is about even with Boko Haram, in terms of the number of conflict-related victims.
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Deaths related to the Boko Haram conflict through October 2018 are roughly 1,900.
The NST identifies sectarian conflict as acts of violence that occur between distinct identity-based groups.
“Examples typically include conflict that is described as occurring between “communities,” religious groups, or between named groups, such as “Fulani herders” and “Berom farmers.” (We exclude Boko Haram from our sectarian violence category.)
“Given our interest in patterns over time, this sectarian category can be useful. However, it does obscure the complex economic, social, historical, and political (often highly local) factors that fuel this type of conflict.
“The escalation in violence through 2018 comes because of a relative "lull" in 2017. The worst overall year since 2011 is 2014, which parallels 2018,” part of the report stated.
Meanwhile, a recent media report indicates that suspected armed bandits on Wednesday, December 19, stormed three communities in Birnin Magaji local government area of Zamfara state, killing many residents.
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According to the report, some of those killed were working on their farms when they were attacked. Sources quoted in the report, said the armed bandits came heavily armed and opened fire on the farmers who were harvesting sweet potatoes at Garin Haladu community.
A resident said that, “the armed bandits came around 1 o’clock noon and opened fire on some youth harvesting sweet potatoes at Garin Haladu community and killed ten people.”
He added that “they came back in the evening and ransacked some villages around.”
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