AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Armed assailants carried out a 10-hour attack on the villages of Wuro and Nuku in Nigeria’s Kwara State, killing scores of residents, with local authorities putting the death toll at at least 162. Villagers say the actual number of victims may be higher and report that several people were abducted.
Witnesses said the attackers, riding motorcycles, moved systematically from house to house, shooting residents and setting homes and shops on fire. Villagers told the Associated Press that the assailants also entered a mosque and opened fire on those inside.
The assault, described as the deadliest security incident in Nigeria in recent months, followed warnings to residents about the imminent presence of the attackers that were not acted upon. Survivors said the massacre lasted for about 10 hours, during which no security forces arrived at the scene, an account disputed by Kwara State police.
In the aftermath, only about 20 men reportedly remain in the villages to bury the dead. Residents said nearly 200 bodies, including charred remains, have so far been buried, while additional bodies are still awaiting burial. Many survivors have begun fleeing the area for nearby towns.
Officials and analysts say the attack signals an escalation and southward spread of Nigeria’s security crisis. The country has for years faced violence from multiple armed groups, including Boko Haram, Islamic State-affiliated factions, and other domestic and cross-border militias. The United Nations has said that thousands of people have been killed in the course of these conflicts.
The Nigerian government announced the launch of a new military operation in Kwara State following the attack. Analysts, however, stress that the crisis is complex in nature and that civilians, regardless of religion or sect, continue to be targeted by extremist violence.
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