The death toll from a Zamfara State daylight attack on farmlands in Sauna District, Talata Mafara Local Government Area, has increased to 23, according to community sources on Thursday.
Earlier reports stated that 16 people were killed. According to recent reports from Sauna District, the total has risen as additional dead have been retrieved from the farms.
According to residents, the victims were attacked while working on their farms on Thursday morning.
According to an area resident who wished to remain anonymous for security concerns, the bandits, who arrived on many motorcycles, opened fire on anyone caught in the fields.
They opened fire on the farmlands without mercy as soon as they arrived, murdering all of the farmers who worked there.
“The assailants came in groups and shot at farmers without warning.”
He also stated that the bodies of all 23 victims were interred in a mass burial at the district head’s palace in Sauna.
He stated that the burial had already taken place on Thursday.
At the time of reporting this report, the security officials had not issued an official statement about the incident.
Attempts to contact the spokesperson for the state police command, DSP Yazid Abubakar, were unsuccessful since his phone number could not be obtained.
Meanwhile, individuals in Sauna District and other regions of the state have faced recurrent attacks on farming communities in recent years, with residents frequently attacked while working on their farms.
