ABUJA: Gunmen killed 10 soldiers and an officer in the central Nigerian state of Benue, the army said on Friday. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack but Benue is part of Nigeria’s middle belt region, where gangs have taken up arms after years of communal clashes between herders and farmers.
"Nigerian Army troops operating in Benue State came under attack while on routine operational task," army spokesman Mohammed Yerima said in a statement, which gave no details of the time of the incident.
The army said they were trying to track down the perpetrators. Benue’s state governor Samuel Ortom said in a statement that communal clashes between the two communities had prompted a military operation in the area. It was in that context that the troops were attacked by unknown gunmen who also stole weapons and ammunitions.