Suspected armed bandits have killed at least 20 people in attacks on Kabaro and Danmani villages in Maru local government area of Zamfara state, Daily Trust gathered.
Last week, 26 people were killed in similar attacks on Kuru-Kuru and Jarkuka villages by suspected armed bandits in Anka local government area of the state.
The attack on Kabaro, a village located 24 km west of Dansadau town came six years after at least 18 people were shot dead by armed bandits and cattle rustlers in the same community. The residents were killed in a similar deadly raid on the community in October 2012.
The troubled Dansadau district is one of the areas hit hard by the activities of armed bandits and cattle rustlers. The notorious cattle rustling kingpin called Buharin Daji was killed in a forest near Dansadau town.
Residents told Daily Trust that the gunmen had earlier intercepted two men on a motor bike on their way to the village from Dansadau town and shot them dead.
Angered by the development, the residents of the community mobilized and caught one of the bandits and executed him to the full glare of the public.
The gunmen then got provoked and returned, laid siege on the community and started firing at residents after they had blocked all escape routes.
They killed 20 people in Kabaro village alone. The figures in Dammani village could not be ascertained as at the time of filing this report.
"Some of the residents have fled to Kebbi state because it is closer and easier for them to take that direction and I believe a lot of them must have been wounded," he added.
Another resident told Daily Trust that when the armed bandits laid siege, the residents attempted to bravely resist the assault on them by fighting back with dane guns.
But, the armed bandits overpowered them because of their superior firepower owing to the fact that they were wielding more sophisticated rifles.
The spokesman of the state police command DSP Muhammad Shehu has confirmed the attack but did not give the figures of the casualties in the attack.
"The Area Commander and DPO alongside other security personnel are already there to assess the situation and we will get know the true situation later," he added.
