No fewer than 50 people were reported to have been reportedly killed while several houses were burnt in renewed communal clashes in Karim Lamido local government area of Taraba State yesterday, according to residents.
The police command in the state however said the casualty figure could not be ascertained at press time yesterday as a result of the difficult terrain in the area which impeded access.
Police spokesman, Usman Abdullahi, said the conflict between Wurkuns and Karimjos started around 3 am yesterday as guerilla attacks.
Premium Times quoted him as saying; “In the last few days, there have been pockets of guerilla attacks in some communities in the area whereby the Karimjos attack the Wurkuns, and the Wurkuns also attack in return, or the Wurkuns attack the Karimjos, and they also attack in return.”
Abdullahi said a joint security team of military and police personnel were already in the area to restore order.
The latest killings and destruction of property including houses, farmlands and domestic animals, came barely a week after the state governor, Agbu Kefas, met with traditional rulers and heads of security agencies on the need to foster peace.