‘Clashes claimed 73 in Taraba’

No fewer than 73 persons were killed and about 50 villages burnt in renewed violence between the HausaFulani and Yandang communities in Lau Local Government Area of Taraba State, the state chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Sahabi Mahmoud and a Yandang community leader, Aaron Artimas, told journalists in Jalingo yesterday.

The MACBAN leader said the hostilities which started on July 5, claimed more than 23 of his members, adding that over 3,000 displaced Hausa-Fulanis, mainly women and children who fled the area, were taking refuge at the Muslim Council Secretariat in Jalingo and other neighbouring local government areas.

Mahmoud said since the displaced persons arrived the Muslim Council in Jalingo, no government official had visited the camp or provided any relief material to the victims.

An elder of the Yandang community, Aaron Artimas, also said more than 50 of Yandang and other tribes in area died as a result of the conflict.

Artimas noted that the HausaFulanis, Yandang, Mumuye and Yoti, among other tribes, had lived in the area without problems for centuries and blamed the recent conflicts on incitement from people outside the area who wanted to remain politicallyrelevant.

“Some militias from neighbouring Adamawa State have infiltrated Babagasa, a border village between Taraba and Adamawa and have been wreaking havoc on all the surrounding villages in Lau LGA in Taraba.

“Villages such as Tikule, Bariki, Santuraki, Budong, Mbonding and Panti-Ladda, among others, were burnt by the militia.

“Over 2,000 displaced persons from the affected villages are currently taking refuge at the Central Primary School, Jalingo. Some are in other villages like Sunkani, Apawa, Zing and Bali all in Taraba, while several others fled to Gorobi, Sabon-Gida, Bujum and Mayo-Belwa in Adamawa State.

“Since the arrival of IDPs in their current locations, they have been living at the mercy of God and good-spirited individuals who have been taking food to them. As I speak with you now, since the conflicts erupted in Lau Local Government on July 5, there is no presence of security while the people continue to kill themselves,’’ he explained.

Taraba State police spokesman, ASP David Misal, however said the casualty figurewas still being compiled at press time while normalcy had been. (NAN)