At least eighty-three people have been killed in communal violence in Nigeria since Dec. 31, government and police officials said, much of it involving clashes between Muslim cattle herders and Christian farmers.
The killings endanger efforts by President Muhammadu Buhari to bring security and stability to Nigeria – a central pledge of his campaign for election in 2015, Reuters reports.
Muslim herdsmen, mainly of the Fulani ethnic group, and Christian farmers often clash over the use of land in parts of the Middle Belt. The region is one of Nigeria’s most diverse, where religious, ancestral and cultural differences have frequently kindled conflict.
Terve Akase, chief press secretary to the governor of Benue, attributed 71 of the deaths from Dec. 31 to Jan. 6 in the state to killings by the Fulani. Reuters was unable to verify the figures.
“The attacks happened in…
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