By Abdulmumini Ashiru<\/p>\n
Suspected bandits have reportedly killed at least 23 farmers in Sauna\/Ruwan Gora community of Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State in a fresh attack that has heightened fears over insecurity in the state.<\/p>\n
Residents said the attackers struck on Wednesday afternoon after initially passing through the community without harming anyone.<\/p>\n
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Daily Trust that the bandits first rode through the village at about 2:00 p.m. without launching an attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bandits passed through our village around 2:00 p.m. without harming anybody. People were even counting the number of motorcycles conveying them,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n
According to the resident, the gunmen later returned and opened fire on farmers working on their farmlands, chasing and killing those who attempted to escape.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey killed 23 people. They attacked them on their respective farms, pursued those who ran for safety and killed them,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The source said preparations had begun for the mass burial of the victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have prepared the bodies of the 23 victims for a mass burial today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Another resident, who also spoke anonymously, claimed the death toll could be as high as 25, noting that efforts were still ongoing to ascertain the exact number of casualties.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bandits returned and attacked the village around 3:00 p.m. yesterday. We are still compiling and tracing those who lost their lives,\u201d the resident said.<\/p>\n
The residents appealed to Governor Dauda Lawal and the Federal Government to deploy more security personnel to the area to curb recurring attacks and safeguard farming communities.<\/p>\n
They warned that continued killings and kidnappings of farmers could worsen food insecurity in Zamfara and other parts of the country.<\/p>\n
As of the time of filing this report, the Zamfara State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident or confirm the casualty figure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Abdulmumini Ashiru Suspected bandits have reportedly killed at least 23 farmers in Sauna\/Ruwan Gora community of Talata Mafara Local Government Area of Zamfara State in a fresh attack that has heightened fears over insecurity in the state. Residents said the attackers struck on Wednesday afternoon after initially passing through the community without harming anyone. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3179,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[101,99],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-security"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t