Deadly Gun Attacks Leave at least 20 Dead in Northwest Nigeria

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Abuja: Local officials reported that armed gangs assaulted many communities in Nigeria's northeastern Zamfara State, killing  at least 21 people.

According to a local councillor, the attackers began fire at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Talata Mafara's Sauna sector. A district official claimed the violence impacted five villages and killed 23, with the majority of the dead thought to be farmers.

Three individuals were injured in the gunfire and brought to a local hospital before being transferred to a teaching hospital in adjacent Sokoto State, according to an official. Police did not immediately publish a comment about the attacks.

The assailants are thought to be part of criminal gangs known in Nigeria as "bandits". Such organisations have terrorised portions of northwestern and central Nigeria for years, carrying out village raids, cattle theft and kidnappings for ransom.

The new killings emphasise the region's ongoing security situation, which leaves farming communities particularly vulnerable to violent attacks. Nigeria also faces a long-running Islamic insurgency in the northeast, as well as other security challenges throughout the country.

Authorities and security specialists have previously warned that some criminal gangs may be forming alliances with terrorist groups, though the bandits tend to be driven by financial gain rather than a publicly stated ideology.