What to know after scores were killed in Nigeria while abducted Christians came home

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria is battling militants and it’s causing a terrible security situation.

Gunmen believed to be Islamic extremists killed scores of people in a western Nigerian state that is becoming a new hot spot for the violence that affects large parts of Africa’s most populous country.

Local officials said at least 162 people died in the Tuesday attack and that the victims in the Muslim-majority villages of Woro and Nuku in Kwara state were targeted for refusing extremist ideology. The gunmen razed homes and looted shops.

The attack is the latest in a surge in violence in Kwara, as well as other conflict hot spots, despite recent support from the U.S. military.

Separately on Thursday, the governor of Kaduna state announced that all 183 Christians abducted from churches last month are free. He did not give details of how this was achieved.

Groups may ally with each other to fight the government

Nigeria is facing a protracted fight with dozens of local armed groups increasingly battling for turf, including Islamist sects like the homegrown Boko Haram and its breakaway faction Islamic State West Africa Province. There is also the Islamic State group-linked Lakurawa, as well as other “bandit” groups that specialize in kidnapping for ransom and in illegal mining.

Recently, the crisis has worsened to include other militants from the neighboring Sahel region, including the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, which claimed its first attack on Nigerian soil last year.

Analysts say Nigeria’s recent military campaigns against the armed groups in the north, added to the growing competition within the groups, have contributed to the groups moving to new areas like Kwara through vast forests where it is difficult to hunt them.

“We may likely see the situation where these groups may come together to confront their common enemy, which is the state,” said Malik Samuel, a security researcher at Good Governance Africa.

Attacks come as US intensifies response to the security crisis

The United States is supporting Nigeria in its military campaigns against the armed groups, despite some disagreements.

This week, the head of U.S. Africa Command said a small team of U.S. military officers are in Nigeria, focused on intelligence support.

Nigeria has been in the diplomatic crosshairs of the U.S. in recent months following threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to attack the country, alleging it is not doing enough to protect its Christian citizens.

While Christians have been among those targeted, analysts say the majority of victims of the armed groups are Muslims in Nigeria’s north, where most attacks occur.

But the U.S.-Nigeria tensions have since eased and the two countries have begun to cooperate. In December, U.S. forces launched airstrikes on IS-affiliated militants in Nigeria.

Last month, Nigeria’s government also said the U.S. has pledged to deliver military equipment purchased by the country but not yet delivered due to concerns about possible human rights abuses by Nigeria’s security forces.

Kwara is emerging as a new frontier for armed groups, analysts say

Kwara State Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said Tuesday’s attack was likely carried out in response to recent counterterrorism operations in the region. Some of these operations have been launched based on intelligence from local communities.

Mohammed Omar Bio, a federal lawmaker from the district, blamed the attack on Lakurawa, whose members were targeted by the U.S. strikes in December, forcing some of them to flee to areas like Kwara.

Experts say that Kwara, which has seen a recent spike in deadly attacks and kidnappings, is fast becoming a new frontier for armed groups seeking to expand.

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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal, and Adetayo from Lagos, Nigeria.