At least 162 people have been killed in an attack by suspected jihadist gunmen on Woro village in west-central Nigeria, with survivors recounting a night of mass killings, arson and abductions.
Suspected jihadist gunmen have reportedly carried out a deadly attack on Woro, a small Muslim-majority village in west-central Nigeria, killing scores of residents and setting homes ablaze. The village’s traditional chief, Umar Bio Salihu, said the assailants had earlier sent a letter informing residents they were coming to preach, but launched a violent rampage after no one attended. According to the Red Cross, at least 162 people were killed in the attack late on Tuesday, with search and recovery operations still ongoing.
Recounting the ordeal, Salihu said the attackers stormed the village in the evening and opened fire indiscriminately. “Around 5:00 pm, the gunmen ‘just came in and started shooting’,” the 53-year-old chief told AFP on Thursday, adding that shops along the road were burned and residents trapped in their homes. “All those shops that are within the road, they burnt them… Some people have been burned inside their houses,” he said.
Salihu said he survived by hiding before fleeing to the nearby town of Kaiama, but lost two sons in the attack, while his wife and three daughters were kidnapped. He added that the assault lasted several hours into the early morning. “When the day breaks, the corpses we see, it’s too much,” he said.