Bandits ambush traders under army escort in Zamfara
At least 22 people are feared dead after gunmen attacked a convoy heading to a weekly market in Bukkuyum. The army and police have yet to comment.
Gusau — At least 22 people are feared dead after suspected bandits ambushed traders travelling under military escort in Zamfara State, in north-west Nigeria, the Abuja newspaper Leadership reports.
The attack happened in the early hours of Sunday. The traders were on their way from Gurusu to Gwashi, in Bukkuyum Local Government Area, for Gwashi's weekly market, and soldiers were escorting them.
Security personnel are reported to be among the dead. Many people were injured and taken to Bukkuyum General Hospital.
No official word
A resident of the area, Malam Aminu Gwashi, confirmed the attack to the newspaper. Leadership said its calls to the spokesmen of Operation Fansan Yamma, the military operation in the north-west, and of the army's 8 Division went unanswered, and that neither the army nor the Zamfara police had issued a statement when it published.
The figure of 22 is therefore a local estimate, not an official count.
A market road under attack
Gwashi and the wider Bukkuyum area have been attacked repeatedly in recent weeks, the paper reports, and trade and other economic activity have suffered. The use of an army escort for people going to market is itself a measure of how dangerous the roads have become.
This report is based on reporting by Leadership, via AllAfrica.
