JOS, Nigeria — Suspected Muslim herdsmen slaughtered 37 Christians in Nigeria in coordinated attacks on four Plateau state villages Nov. 26 after Boko Haram terrorists killed at least 34 Christians in Borno state earlier in November, sources said.
The Miyetti Allah cattle-rearing association reportedly denied that Fulani herdsmen were responsible for attacking the villages. Most mainstream media mentioned vague accusations of cattle theft or unsupported statements of political and land disputes as possible motivations for the attacks, although in recent months Muslim Fulani herdsmen have increased the unprovoked slaughter of unarmed Christians in their homes that has taken place for several years in Plateau state.
Christian leaders otherwise at a loss to explain the increase in attacks believe Islamic extremist groups are inciting the attacks. Hit-and-run, guerrilla-style attacks on Christian villages in which children are shot to death as they sleep support their suspicion that the assaults are motivated by a desire to eliminate Christianity.
The slaughters come after members of the Islamic extremist Boko Haram group in Borno state killed at least 26 Christians Nov. 11–13 and eight others Nov. 3 in Nigeria’s northeast. Boko Haram has attacked religious, governmental and police centers in its campaign to impose a strict version of sharia (Islamic law) throughout Nigeria.
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