INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
16 bodies were recovered from the scene of the attack and those of the two priests (Representational)Makurdi, Nigeria:
Two priests were among at least 18 people killed in a dawn attack on a church in central Nigeria, police said Tuesday, in violence
condemned by President Muhammadu Buhari as "satanic".Around 30 suspected herdsmen attacked Mbalom community in the volatile region killing
the worshippers and the two priests, said Benue state police commissioner Fatai Owoseni in the state capital of Makurdi."They attacked the
venue of a burial ceremony and also attacked the church where the two reverend fathers were holding mass," said Owoseni."We were able to
recover 16 bodies from the scene of the attack and those of the two priests."Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari described the violence as
"satanic" in a statement."This latest assault on innocent persons is particularly despicable," said Buhari."Violating a place of worship,
killing priests and worshippers is not only vile, evil and satanic, it is clearly calculated to stoke up religious conflict and plunge our
communities into endless bloodletting."Worshippers were gathered for the daily 5:30 am (0430GMT) service at St
Ignatius Catholic church when they heard gunshots, said Mbalom resident Terhemen Angor to AFP."People started scampering and wailing," said
Angor, saying that scores were "gunned down in cold blood while many sustained injuries including bullet wounds."After attacking the church,
the invaders descended on the community and razed over 60 houses," he said."The community is on fire and deserted, people are fleeing to
neighbouring villages hoping to find a safe haven for their families."The Catholic Diocese of Makurdi confirmed the death of priests Joseph
Gor and Felix Tyolaha in a statement denouncing the violence.- 'Under siege' -Riots over the killings erupted in Makurdi, the epicentre of
the violence that has thrown the state into chaos.Police fired teargas to disperse a rampaging mob that took over a busy intersection and
lit massive fires in protest of the latest attack."We are under siege," said acting governor of Benue state Benson Abounu."We have been
attacked from all corners and this is unacceptable."Central Nigeria is in the grip of a security crisis as nomadic herders and sedentary
farmers fight over land in an increasingly bloody battle for resources.The conflict is now more deadly than the Boko Haram jihadist
insurgency that has ravaged Nigeria's northeast and is becoming a key issue in the upcoming 2019 presidential polls.Benue state lies in
Nigeria's so-called Middle Belt that separates the predominantly Muslim north from the largely Christian south.The area has long been a
hotbed of ethnic, sectarian and religious tensions between indigenous farming communities, who are mainly Christian and the nomadic cattle
herders, who are Muslim.The clashes over land have escalated into a rift that has deepened along nominally religious lines.Buhari, who is
seeking a second term, has been under pressure to end the violence and ordered in military reinforcements, but the killings continue in the
absence of a strong police force and efficient judicial system."People are being killed regularly and nothing is being done in terms of
bringing perpetrators to book," Idayat Hassan, director of the Centre for Democracy and Development West Africa, told AFP."There is this
belief that there is a conspiracy against the people," Hassan said, speaking from Abuja."It is getting worse and it's getting messier,"
Hassan said, warning "we must quickly address this, before we get into a free-for-all war.(Except for the headline, this story has not been
edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
