JOS (AFP) – Gunmen said to be
dressed as soldiers opened
fire on a Jos pub, killing 10
people in a region hit by
waves of clashes between
Christian and Muslim ethnic groups, authorities said
Tuesday. The incident occurred in the
Barkin Ladi area of Plateau
state late Monday and saw
gunmen storm the pub then
open fire indiscriminately on
customers, according to a military spokesman who
denied soldiers were
involved. Barkin Ladi is a mainly
Christian area of the region
which lies on the fault line
between the mainly Muslim
north and predominantly
Christian south of Africa’s most populous nation. “The gunmen opened fire
indiscriminately on
customers, killing eight on the
spot, while two others died
later as a result of the
gunshot wounds they sustained,” Captain Salisu
Ibrahim Mustapha said. “In protest to the killings,
some members of the
community barricaded the
highway, preventing
commuters from using the
road.” Some residents claimed the
gunmen were wearing army
uniforms, while a Christian
activist from the Stefanos
Foundation made the same
accusation. “There was an attack on a
drinking spot in Heipan last
night by five gunmen dressed
in army uniform,” Mark
Lipdo told AFP, referring to
the neighbourhood in Barkin Ladi. Mustapha denied any soldiers
were involved. Criminals
have in the past dressed as
soldiers or police to carry out
crimes or commit violence. Nigeria’s Plateau state has
been hit by waves of clashes
that have left scores of
people dead in recent years.
Policies favouring ethnic
groups considered to be indigenous to the area have
worsened the conflict. The violence has often
involved clashes between
mainly Christian Beroms and
Hausa-Fulani Muslims. However, in addition to the
ethnic clashes, Islamist
extremist group Boko Haram
has also carried out a number
of attacks in the region as
part of its insurgency. www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/gunmen-dressed-as-soldiers-kill-10-at-jos-pub/