Nigeria forces kill at least 30 gang members, police say

Security forces in Nigeria killed at least 30 members of an armed criminal gang in the northern state of Zamfara, police said Saturday.

Zamfara state police said officers and local civil security units launched clearance operations this week after bandits attempted to attack the town of Bukkuyum. Police said more than 30 bodies believed to be those of “neutralised bandits” were found in nearby farmland after the operation.

Mawwali Wali, a traditional leader in Bukkuyum, told AFP that more than 40 bandits were killed in two separate clashes. He said one vigilante was killed and another was injured on the government side.

Northern Nigeria, especially the northwest, has faced attacks by armed criminal gangs known locally as bandits. The gangs carry out kidnappings for ransom, cattle rustling, village raids and killings.

In mid-October, bandits killed 13 people, including eight soldiers and a police officer, after ambushing a convoy of traders travelling to a local market in Bukkuyum district.