Two Politicians Killed in Central Nigeria

Posted July 8th, 2012 at 3:25 pm (UTC-5)
Leave a comment

Two Nigerian politicians were killed in central Nigeria Sunday while attending a mass burial for victims of an attack on Saturday.

Officials say a federal senator and a state legislator were among more than 20 people killed in the funeral procession near the Plateau state capital, Jos. They say one politician escaped the attack.

Officials blamed herdsmen of the Muslim Fulani tribe for the attack. The two lawmakers were ethnic Birom. Fulani community leaders denied any involvement in Sunday's attack.

Early Saturday, armed gangs attacked two villages near Jos, killing about 50 people, including some security troops who fought back.

Plateau State is situated in Nigeria's middle belt where the Muslim-dominated north and the Christian-majority south meet.

Nigerian authorities have been fighting a radical Islamist group, Boko Haram, which has launched a series of attacks on Christian churches and villages in the region. The attacks have sparked retaliation from Christian youths, raising concerns that the violence could engulf the whole country.