Gunmen killed two people and abducted over 100 — mostly women and children — in coordinated attacks on Gamdum Mallam and Ruwan Rana villages, sparking renewed alarm amid escalating violence in Zamfara State.
Gunmen have killed two people and abducted at least 100 others — mostly women and children — in coordinated attacks on the villages of Gamdum Mallam and Ruwan Rana in Bukkuyum Local Government Area, Zamfara State. The assailants stormed the communities on motorbikes, shooting sporadically, in an assault that began on Saturday, August 23.
Muhammadu Mai Anguwa, the village head of Gamdum Mallam, told Reuters that the bandits “killed and kidnapped many women and children” during the attack, and forcibly moved the victims toward Makakari forest.
Resident Huzaifa Isa described how the attackers split into two groups: “One group was kidnapping people and livestock, while the other set up a roadblock at Adafka’s main entrance, shooting at anyone who tried to pass.” He added, “We were being treated like slaves in our own land, as if there is no government.”
Hamisu Faru, lawmaker for Bukkuyum South in the Zamfara House of Assembly, confirmed that “At least 100 people have been abducted since Saturday morning,” noting that “the bandits attacked Nasarawa Burkullum under heavy rain, crossed the river into nearby villages, and abducted 46 more people in Ruwan Rana village.”