Gunmen kill at least 20 people in mining town in northwestern Nigeria, rights group says

ABUJA, Nigeria — Armed men killed at least 20 people and injured dozens in a mining village in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara state, a rights group said.

Gunmen arrived by motorcycles in the village of Gobirawa Chali in the Dan Gulbi district around midday Thursday, and went on a “house-to-house killing spree,” Amnesty International said in a post on X the same day.

The gunmen’s first target was a gold-mining site where they initially killed 14 people, before more bodies were found inside homes and in a mosque.

The possible motive for the attack is unclear but bandit groups have been known for mass killings and kidnappings for ransom in the conflict-battered northern region, most of them former herders in conflict with settled communities.

Dozens of armed groups take advantage of a limited security presence in Nigeria’s mineral-rich northwestern region to carry out attacks on villages and along major roads.

“The people of Dan Gulbi district have been repeatedly attacked by gunmen and continue to live perpetually in fear of a potential attack,” Amnesty International said in its post.

Last December, gunmen abducted at least 50 people, including several women and children, in the Maradun area of Zamfara.

Kidnappings for ransom have become a lucrative way for bandit groups to fund other crimes and control villages in the restive region.