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Security Crisis in Rural Nigeria Prompts Calls for Action

Salem Solomon

   WASHINGTON/ABUJA - It was dusk on July 24 when Emmanuel Ali said he
   heard the gunshots. A group of armed men entered his village in
   Nigeria's Kaduna state, he said, and began setting fire to homes.

   Ali fled to the bush with his family and then returned to rescue his
   paralyzed mother, who was trapped inside her burning home.

   "The fire was almost catching her," Ali told VOA's French to Africa
   service. "I removed my window, that's where I entered, and picked her
   out from the window."

   In Nigeria's isolated northern villages, nightfall is fraught with
   terror as bandits terrorize residents. According to a new report by
   Amnesty International, bandits are operating with near impunity in the
   region. At least 1,126 villagers were killed by armed groups between
   January and June of 2020, [1]Amnesty reported.

References

   1. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/08/nigeria-government-failings-leave-rural-communities-at-the-mercy-of-gunmen/