No fewer than 70 persons were said to have lost their lives and several others injured in separate attacks in Karim Lamido and Takum Local Government Areas of Taraba State within the past few days.
It was alleged that 27 people were killed in Karim-Lamido LGA following a reprisal by the military.
The PUNCH gathered that suspected Fulani gunmen ambushed and killed six soldiers while three were said to be missing two days ago when the gunmen attacked the soldiers between Amar and Kambari village of Karim Lamido LGA.
The soldiers were said to be on a routine patrol of the area when they were ambushed and killed.
Three of the missing soldiers were also found dead by the military when they combed the area in search of their missing colleagues.
In Takum LGA, 21 people were killed on Sunday by suspected Kuteb youths, who were said to be on a revenge mission after about 13 of their people were alleged to have been killed along Takum-Katsina-Ala and Takum-Kashinbilla roads between Friday and Saturday by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.
It was gathered that while the soldiers were in search of three of their missing colleagues in Karim Lamido, suspected gunmen opened fire on them and the military replied, leaving over 27 persons dead.
Chairman of Karim Lamido LGA, Bobboi Bello Bendu, could not confirm the number of casualties, but said there was an exchange of fire in the area.
He said, “Two villages were completed razed, but I can’t tell the exact number of casualties at the moment. The report I am getting indicates that some persons were killed.”
There were reports that trucks, loaded with soldiers from Taraba and the neighbouring Adamawa state, stormed the area two days ago to search for their missing colleagues.
A military source, who pleaded anonymity, said they recovered two bodies of their missing colleagues and were looking for the remaining one when gunmen opened fire on them.
He added that they defended themselves and in the process, many of the attackers were killed. But locals said, over 27 people were killed.
Tension is said to be mounting in Takum town and its environs as the Kuteb youths are reported to be hunting and killing Tiv people, who they alleged killed 13 of their people.
Following the development, the council chairman Mr. Caleb Babafi, imposed a 24-hour curfew in Takum town to forestall the breakdown of law of order in the area.
Confirming the killings, Police Public Relations Officer, Joseph Kwaji, said he was not aware of the killings in Karim Lamido, but said nine people were killed in Takum following clashes between Tiv and Kuteb.
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