USA Africa Dialogue Series - Thousands flee as Nigerian village clashes leave at least five dead

Thousands flee as Nigerian village clashes leave at least five dead

Thousands flee rural areas caught up in violence between nomadic
cattle herders and farmers in Benue and Nasarawa

Associated Press
Friday December 2 2011
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/01/nigeria-clashes-violence-five-dead

At least 5,000 people have fled villages in central Nigeria, the site
of clashes between nomadic cattle herders and farmers occurred,
officials said Thursday. At least five people have died in the
fighting.

Authorities acknowledged there could be many more deaths as a result
of violence that has hit rural Benue and Nasarawa states in Nigeria's
fertile central belt. The area acts as a dividing line between
religious and ethnic groups.

Remote villages remain difficult to reach and officials appear
hesitant to publicise details of the attacks for fear of inflaming a
region where such clashes are common.

The fighting began this week when Muslim Fulani cattle herders found
some of their livestock dead, said Conrad Wergba, Benue state's
information commissioner. The cattle herders retaliated by attacking
villages of the Christian Tiv ethnic group in both Benue and Nasarawa
states, he said. "It is an occurring problem. There is this conflict
each time their cattle destroy the Tiv farmland during grazing."

The police and military were guarding the area, Wergba added.

Benue state police spokesman Ejike Alaribe said at least five people
had died in the attacks, although he acknowledged that the toll may be
higher. "That's official figures. Some others died but not in our
state," Alaribe said. "It's a remote area. Most of the things that
happen, they don't feel like going to report them to the appropriate
authorities ? It could be more."

Victoria Monde, the Nasarawa state information commissioner, referred
questions to an employee who refused to give his name. He said the
government had given food to refugees in multiple camps. Both the
employee and Monde declined to comment further.

The Tiv represent one the largest of the minority ethnic groups in
Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people and more than 250
different ethnicities. Clashes have previously occurred between Benue
villagers and other groups over land issues. In 2001, during one of
the worst spates of violence, Nigeria's federal government sent
soldiers to the region who killed 200 villagers.

guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2011

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