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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Nigeria: Jihadists slaughter and kidnap dozens of people for 'not practicing the true teachings of Islam' during Friday prayers in Nigeria |
| 2026-08-22 |
| [DM] Jihadists have kidnapped and slaughtered scores of people in an attack during Friday prayers in central Nigeria. The exact toll of the attacks, which also hit the village of Binzi in Niger State, was unknown, federal representative Jafaru Mohammed said. Jibril Ahmad, a civilian who survived the attack, said: 'Soon after finishing the normal Friday prayer, the armed group of Lakuwara, in their hundreds, wielding guns, knives and machetes, began to attack us.' 'They slaughtered some of our people, saying we are not practising the true teachings of Islam,' Ahmad added. Some are understood to have escaped when another jihadist group, known as Mahmuda, started clashing with the militants. It was also confirmed today that armed men abducted over 60 worshippers from a nearby mosque. Police spokesperson Wasiu Abiodun said the attackers stormed Kpenya Mosque in the Dekara district of the Borgu local government area at about 2pm on Friday after first attacking Gidan-Zana and Kpenya villages. 'The developing report indicated that no life was lost, while joint security detachment has been deployed to the area for assessment and rescue operations,' Abiodun said in a statement. A resident told Reuters the attack appeared coordinated and occurred simultaneously in Dekara and three other communities in Borgu while residents were observing Friday prayers. Reuters could not immediately verify the account independently. Africa's most populous country is battling a 17-year insurgency by jihadist groups, who have made such abductions a key tactic - including the 2014 kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls in the town of Chibok. The insurgency is concentrated in the northeast, though Friday's attack was in the west of the country, an area that has seen increased activity by armed groups and militants from the Sahel as the conflict has splintered. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |