'They attack police on sight'

2004-05-19 14:16

Lagos - Heavily-armed political militiamen invaded two remote communities in eastern Nigeria, overwhelmed local police and killed large numbers of residents.

This latest reported attack, which took place on Sunday in Benue State near Nigeria's border with Cameroon, came as government was already struggling to deal with an upsurge in ethnic and religious violence elsewhere in the volatile west African giant.

"The latest incident happened in Kwande local government area of the state. The area is volatile where there have been a series of attacks in recent months," said Benue State police spokesperson Bode Fakeye.

"Many people were killed in the incident and hundreds of houses burnt. I don't want to volunteer any figure on casualties because it is only when bodies are recovered that the police will have a figure," he said.

Fakeye and Benue State government spokesperson Becky Orpin said that the fighting was part of a political feud dating back to Nigeria's March 27 local elections, and was not linked to Muslim-Christian clashes further north.

"Our men are there to ensure peace but I must confess we are overwhelmed by the guerilla warfare of the militiamen," said Fakeye. "They use grenades and other sophisticated weapons. They attack policemen on sight."

Fakeye said the large force of illegal militiamen were well-versed in guerilla tactics and had proved impossible to flush out of the forested hills in the remote border district around the Kwande district.

- AFP