Six soldiers, police killed in Nigerian communal clashes

Six soldiers and a policeman were killed in central Nigeria during conflicts between farmers and herders, local police confirmed on Wednesday.

A joint military and police team was attacked on Tuesday in Tarti village, Takum district, Taraba state, according to state police spokesman Usman Abdullahi.

“We lost six soldiers and a policeman in the attack by Fulani and Kutep militia,” Abdullahi said.

He said a senior army officer was also missing following the attack.

“The military commander leading the team, a lieutenant-colonel, is missing and presumed kidnapped by one of the warring parties,” he said, adding that a manhunt was underway to rescue the officer.

Abdullahi said ethnic Fulani and Kutep militia had been locked in weeks-long clashes which intensified on Tuesday, leading to the deployment of the security forces.

Friction between nomadic cattle herders and farmers over grazing and water rights has ancient roots in northern and central Nigeria but violence has worsened in recent years due in large part to climate change and population growth.

The conflict has also taken a religious dimension with the Fulani herders being mainly Muslims and the farmers largely Christians.

Some of the groups involved in these communal conflicts have become heavily armed criminal gangs who raid villages to kill, kidnap and rape.

In a separate incident, Taraba’s police spokesman said there was an explosion on Tuesday at the fence of a military base in the state capital Jalingo, 290 kilometers (180 miles) from Tarti.

“The blast happened around 8:25 pm (1925 GMT), destroying a section of the perimeter wall of the military base, but no one was hurt,” he said.

The blow was not claimed by any group, but it came after multiple explosions targeting drinking establishments in the state claimed by ISWAP affiliates, who generally operate in the country’s northeast.