Renewed communal clashes in Taraba claim 16 lives, spark tension in Karim Lamido communities
By: Zagazola Makama
No fewer than 16 persons have been confirmed dead following a series of bloody clashes between farming communities and Fulani pastoralists in Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State.
Sources told Zagazola Makama that three latest violence, which occurred between May 12 and 14, affected villages such as Mungadosso, Bandawa, Wuro Guga and the remote Fitowa bush, with eyewitness accounts indicating reprisal attacks from both sides.
The initial attacks began in Mungadosso and Bandawa, where suspected herders reportedly carried out three separate raids, leaving about 10 people dead and several homes razed. Community members believe the attackers had used a settlement in Wuro Guga via Jen as their base.
In what appeared to be retaliation, armed youths from Mungadosso were said to have stormed Fitowa bush, about 20 kilometres away, on motorcycles and opened fire on herders who were grazing their livestock in the area. Six herders were confirmed dead in the counter-assault.
Local sources told Zagazola that the situation remains tense, as families have begun fleeing affected communities in fear of further violence. Homes and huts in some areas were also reportedly set ablaze in the aftermath of the attacks.
The renewed wave of violence is rooted in longstanding tensions between farmers and herders over access to land and water, and it adds to the growing concern over communal strife in the state.
Concerned authorities are calling for immediate de-escalation and dialogue to prevent further loss of lives, while local security patrols are said to be ongoing across flashpoints.
