Twenty Killed in Armed Attack in Central Nigeria's Plateau State

The police in Plateau State, located in central Nigeria, reported on Tuesday that 20 individuals were killed in an armed attack earlier this week targeting a community in the Bokkos area. This incident represents the latest in a series of sectarian attacks in the region, which continues to experience violence despite repeated security deployments and government promises to halt such assaults, according to Reuters.

Plateau State is among several states in Nigeria’s so-called "Middle Belt" known for their ethnic and religious diversity. Sectarian conflicts in this area have resulted in hundreds of deaths over recent years.

Alfred Alabo, the spokesperson for the Plateau State Police, stated that police forces, working alongside other security agencies, engaged the attackers in a "violent battle" early Sunday morning before the assailants fled the scene. He added that 18 people died at the attack site, with two more succumbing to injuries later in the hospital.

Alabo also noted that Basi Iya, the Plateau State Police Commissioner, has ordered the deployment of additional forces to the area, including more tactical and mobile police units.

In a separate development, an attack on a village in northwestern Nigeria resulted in 10 fatalities.

Nigeria has been engaged in a conflict since 2009 against the Boko Haram insurgency and its splinter faction known as the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP). This ongoing war has caused tens of thousands of deaths and displaced millions, particularly in the northeastern states.