At least 62 people were killed and 52 injured after gunmen attacked Binnari village in northeastern Nigeria. The attack forced thousands to flee, while rescue teams continued recovering bodies, including from a river.The gunmen arrived on motorcycles and attacked Binnari village in Nigeria while a weekly market was underway.
At least 62 people have been killed and 52 others injured after gunmen opened fire on a village in northeastern Nigeria, the country's emergency agency said on Tuesday, per local media reports.The attack took place on October 23, in Binnari village in Taraba state. The gunmen, described locally as bandits, attacked residents and left several homes and properties damaged, according to Ladan Ayuba, the state head of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).The gunmen arrived on motorcycles and attacked Binnari village while a weekly market was underway.
They opened fire on residents, prompting people to flee in different directions.Some villagers ran towards the nearby Benue river in an attempt to escape. Several drowned while trying to cross the river, with 15 bodies later recovered from the water.
The attack also displaced thousands of people, NEMA said. The death toll could rise, as police said recovery operations were still underway and more bodies were being found, according to reports.A spokesperson for the Taraba State Police Command said the casualty figure was not final as search and recovery operations continued.
The attack underscored the persistent security crisis in Nigeria, where armed gangs, commonly known as bandits, frequently raid villages, kidnap people for ransom and target civilians.The African country is also battling a long-running insurgency by Islamist terrorist groups, including Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), particularly in the northeast.- Ends