Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen launched another attack on the Udeku Maav-Ya community in Mbakyol Council Ward, Turan district of Kwande Local Government Area, Benue State, killing five people.
According to local sources, the attack occurred while residents were still harvesting yams and bambara nuts from their farms.
The attack, according to one of the locals who simply identified as Terna, disrupted activities in the community.
When contacted, the Chairman of Kwande Local Government Area, Tersua Yarkwan, confirmed the killings.
He said the attackers did not immediately withdraw after the assault, which he said caused tension in the area.
Yarkwan, who described the area as a vulnerable border area that shares an international boundary with Cameroon, lamented that the terrain complicated security operations.
He said that the continued attacks during harvest season threatened food security.
Also confirming the incident, a former supervisory councillor in the local government, Akerigba Lawrence, decried the constant assault on the community.
He stated that residents of the community constantly faced sustained attacks and destruction of crops, homes, and economic trees, as well as restricted access to water sources.
The fresh attack on farmers has triggered concerns over the influx of armed herders in Benue communities, which always happens during the dry season.
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