Gunmen have killed no fewer than 30 residents in a fresh assault on Dutsin Dan Ajiya village in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
The attack, which reportedly occurred around midnight on Thursday, left several others injured, while an unspecified number of villagers were abducted.
A source in the community, who identified himself as Mallam Isah, told our correspondent that the assailants stormed the village in large numbers, riding on motorcycles and wielding sophisticated weapons.
He said the attackers blocked all major access roads leading to the community before opening fire on fleeing residents.
“We counted not fewer than 30 bodies this morning along the main road leading to Dutsin Dan Ajiya and within the village,” the source said, expressing anguish over the scale of the killings.
According to him, many residents sustained varying degrees of injuries during the onslaught, as panic gripped the area.
He added that the development had forced residents of the community and neighbouring settlements to flee for safety.
“As we speak, people are running away from their homes. Women and children are crying as they leave the village out of fear,” he said.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Zamfara State Police Command for official confirmation were unsuccessful as calls to his telephone lines were not answered as of the time of filing this report.