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Several thousand Christians gathered in the north-central Nigerian city of Jos on Monday to protest against insecurity after nearly 200 people were killed in nearby villages over Christmas.
Many people dressed in black to mark their mourning, crowds gathered outside the local governor’s office in the Plateau state capital to join the call for peace.
The Plateau, located on the border between the north of Nigeria, which is predominantly Muslim, and the south, which is predominantly Christian, is often the victim of increases in religious and ethnic violence.
“We unequivocally and emphatically call for an end to these sustained attacks and killings on the Plateau and in Nigeria,” rally organizer Rev. Stephen Baba Panya said in a speech.
“Security personnel should be deployed to all hotspots in Plateau State to prevent a repeat of the Christmas massacres.”
In attacks in Bokkos and Barkin Ladi local government areas, gunmen attacked villages on December 23 and subsequent days, killing 198 people, according to Plateau State officials.
Thousands of people were also displaced during the attacks, which mainly affected Christian villages.
Around five thousand people took part in the rally on Monday, holding banners reading “We are human beings, we are not animals” and “The Plateau must be free”, according to an AFP correspondent.
“We have lost everything on the farms, because there is no one to harvest,” said Josephine Marren, a farmer who said she also lost two brothers in the attacks.
Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang has reiterated his promise to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Authorities did not blame any group for the attack and did not say it was linked to tensions between farmers and nomadic herders, which often escalate into violent reprisals.
Mutfwang said it was “pure terrorism”.
The coalition of Muslim herder groups in Plateau State, led by Muhammad Nura Abdullahi, said on Sunday that between December 23 and 24, more than 30 members of its community were killed in the attacks.
North-west and central Nigeria have long been terrorized by bandit militias operating from bases deep in the forests and attacking villages to loot and kidnap residents for ransom.
Competition for natural resources between pastoralists and nomadic farmers, intensified by rapid population growth and climatic pressures, has also worsened social tensions and sparked violence.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has made tackling insecurity a priority since coming to power last year, as he seeks to encourage foreign investment in Africa’s most populous country.
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