‘13 residents’ drown while fleeing from gunmen in Zamfara

Over 13 residents have drowned in a river while fleeing from gunmen in Birnin Magaji ward of Zamfara state.

The gunmen were said to have attacked two communities in Birnin Magaji on Friday.

During the attack, some members of the communities escaped to board a boat to flee to a nearby riverbank.

Residents told Reuters that there was only a single boat available, which was overloaded with fleeing residents.

Shehu Mohammed, a health worker in Birnin Magaji, told Reuters that his elder son and nieces were among those who died in the boat

“My eldest son and two other nieces were among the 13 people who died when the boat was heavily overloaded with people,” Mohammed said.

Maidamma Dankilo, the district head of Birnin Magaji, said 13 people have been confirmed dead, 22 rescued, and 22 others still missing.

There has been an uptick in gunmen attacks on Zamfara communities lately.

Last Saturday, gunmen killed two residents and abducted at least 100, in Gamdum Mallam and Ruwan Rana villages of Bukkuyum LGA in Zamfara.

In early August, gunmen raided several communities in Kauran Namoda LGA, killing 24 people, injuring 16, and abducting 144.

In July, bandits reportedly killed 33 kidnap victims in Banga town after collecting a ransom of N50 million