No fewer than 13 people were killed in protracted clashes between cattle rustlers and local civilian militia in northern Nigeria of Zamfara state.
The state police spokesman, Mohammed Shehu said on Thursday that the militia and cattle thieves fought a gun battle Tuesday through Wednesday in the remote village of Fankashi in the Maru district of the state.
“Our men recovered 13 dead bodies from the criminal gang and the vigilantes from the village after the fight,” he added.
“The village was attacked by the bandits, resulting in the fight with the militia, who were armed with locally made, single-shot muskets.”
“Police reinforcements were later sent to the area,” said Shehu.
On Wednesday, the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, ordered the deployment of 200 combat policemen to Zamfara and neighbouring Kaduna state, which is suffering similar problems.
Idris was reported to have given the order during a visit to Birnin Gwari district in Kaduna state, where armed bandits killed 10 gold miners last weekend.
