Partners of Release, which serves persecuted Christians worldwide, say armed men in military uniform led an attack against Christian villagers in Byei and Baten villages, which are around 40km south of Jos. 

‘Our partners tell us that 12 villagers were killed, including women and children,’ says Release CEO Andy Dipper. ‘Witnesses say the attackers burnt a mother with her two young children and mutilated others. Some of the dead had their tongues cut out.

 

‘This is the second appalling attack on Christians in this area in a fortnight. Release calls on Nigeria to act decisively to restore order and to protect its citizens. And we call on the international community to make sure that security is restored.’

 

According to witnesses, armed Muslim Fulani men, led by a group dressed in military uniform, attacked Byei village at around 1.00 am on March 17.

The uniformed men were carrying guns and leading the way; shooting from house to house as the Fulanis, mainly armed with machetes, carried out the massacre.

 

Witnesses report seeing mutilated bodies, some with their tongues removed. Release partners have visited the injured in hospital.

One survivor, Kachollom Pam Dauda, who is pregnant, told Nigerian media that she was lucky to have escaped the killers. ‘I climbed the roof of the house and saw the killers kill my two sisters-in-law – they could not escape. I saw as they were being butchered and slain.’ 
 

According to news agency Compass Direct she heard the killers say they would return in two days to ‘finish them off’. 
 

On March 7, Fulani herdsmen attacked 75 houses in Jos. Estimates of the numbers dead range from the low hundreds to 500, the figure offered by the Plateau State Commissioner. Witnesses said the attackers were chanting ‘Allah Akbar’ – ‘Allah is greater’ as they broke into homes and killed villagers.

 

They attacked and burned church buildings. Observers say the army was warned that an attack was imminent but did nothing to prevent it. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria, mercenaries from Chad and Niger were involved.

 

Jos is located in the centre of the country between the largely Muslim north and the mainly Christian south. Along with religious tensions, tribal and political differences have seen an increasing polarisation between different ethnic groups. The attack on Byei is the latest in a wave of attacks against Christian communities, which began in 2001.

 

 

 

For a country profile of Nigeria, please go to:

 

For further information please contact Andrew Boyd on 01903 741184, or Release International on 01689 823491 or by email at info@releaseinternational.org 

 

And for more information on Release International please go to: www.releaseinternational.org