Nigeria’s president demanded late Monday that police and the army “stop the madness” in central Plateau state after more than 20 people were killed a new flare-up of violence. Fulani herdsmen are suspected of killing at least 20 people last weekend with guns and explosives in the latest round of clashes in a long-running battle over grazing rights in central Nigeria. “President Muhammadu Buhari has received with deep sadness and regret news of the recent killings of at least 20 people in Plateau state, during what has been described as a reprisal attack by some herdsmen,” according to an official statement. Plateau state falls on the dividing line between Nigeria’s mainly Christian south and mostly Muslim north and has witnessed sporadic ethnic and religious tensions for decades. Tensions frequently boil over, with more than 10,000 people killed in the state since the turn of the century, according to groups tracking the violence.

Source: Dhaka Tribune October 17, 2017 02:03 UTC