Gunmen kill 20 in dawn attack at mosque

A gang armed with rifles and machetes attacked a rural village in Nigeria yesterday, killing 20 people – including worshippers leaving a mosque just before dawn.

The attack happened in Dogon Dawa, a village deep in the pasturelands of Kaduna state in northern Nigeria, where police and security forces maintain only a light presence.

A rescue official, who lives nearby, told the Associated Press news agency that the attacks began in the early morning under cover of darkness, with up to 50 gunmen surrounding the village and its neighbouring farmlands.

The reasons for the attack remained unclear. The emergency official said locals had blamed a gang of robbers, who recently arrived from neighbouring Zamfara state and began attacking villages and robbing people along the road.

AP