Officials say 18 villagers shot dead at mosque in Nigeria

By CHINEDU ASADU
Associated Press

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Local authorities and police say at least 18 worshippers have been killed by gunmen who attacked a mosque in northern Nigeria during morning prayers. Monday’s attack took place in Mazakuka village in Mashegu local government area of the country’s Niger state. The attackers, believed to be ethnic Fulani nomadic herders, were able to escape. Similar ethnic violence has led to hundreds of deaths so far this year, stemming from a decades-long pastoral conflict over access to water and land. Some of the  Fulani caught up in that conflict have taken up arms against local Hausa farming communities. “The gunmen came around the mosque and started shooting them,” Alhassan Isah, chairman of Mashegu local government area told The AP.