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Bandits kill 200 in Zamfara – reports

A report has it that bandits operating in Zamfara State has killed at least 200 people over several days.

According to a BBC report, motorbike-riding gangsters reportedly attacked village after village, shooting indiscriminately.

The military has intensified aerial attacks on terrorists locations deep into the Forests and the attacks are believed to be a ripostes.

The groups have plagued Zamfara and neighbouring states for several years.

Known locally as bandits, these gangs are sophisticated networks of criminals who operate across large swathes of territory, often stealing animals, kidnapping for ransom and killing those who confront them.

This week, the government officially labelled bandits as terrorists, allowing security forces to impose tougher sanctions on the groups and their supporters.

On Friday it was initially reported that more than 100 people had been killed by suspected bandit militants in the region, after some 300 gunmen on motorbikes arrived in as many as nine communities between Tuesday and Thursday night.

Gunmen burnt homes and mutilated the bodies of their victims in the assault.

Villager Idi Musa told the AFP news agency that the attackers also stole around 2,000 cattle.

Local media reported that the armed groups behind the attacks appeared to be on the move – heading towards the western part of Zamfara state after abandoning hideouts in forested areas in response to sustained government attacks.

A spokesperson for Humanitarian Affairs Minister Sadiya Umar Farouq told AFP that more than 200 people had been buried.

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