Terrorists have attacked Yar Gamji village in Batsari Local Government Area in Katsina state, killing at least 26 people and leaving over 40 people with various types of injuries from gunshots and machetes.
The attack was happening at the same time the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen.Tukur Buratai is on a tour in the state.
On Monday, Buratai, flanked by hundreds of soldiers in military vehicles, launched another operation to mark the 2020 Army Day.
The operation, codenamed ‘Operation Sahel Sanity’, is meant to tackle banditry and terrorism in the Northwest.
Buratai, who flagged off the military operation at Faskari, Katsina State, said the exercise and other ongoing military operations, were meant to restore normalcy and peace in the affected states and Nigeria, generally.
Meanwhile, the community has conducted a mass burial of those who lost their lives during the attack which took place on Monday, July 6.
A resident, Salisu Zubairu, lying on a sickbed in Batsari hospital said, “the terrorists met us in our farms around 9 am in the morning and terrorized the whole community with their guns.
“They shot me on my left shoulder while my brother, working with me on the farm, had several bullet wounds and was transferred to a specialist hospital in the state capital Katsina town.
“There were over 40 soldiers stationed in Yar Gamji Primary School, but they couldn’t respond in time after over one hour into their operations. Soldiers later arrived and engaged the armed group” he added.
Hassan Umar, another resident of the community who narrowly escaped unharmed said about 100 armed assailants stormed their village singing and saying that they had warned the community not to go near their farms.
“This is your reward for disobeying us,” the terror groups told the villagers according to eyewitnesses.
“The dead bodies are yet to be fully discovered because many fled with gunshot wounds to the bush. Some of the dead bodies are children abandoned by their “parents,” said another resident, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals.
HumAngle gathered that only 19 dead bodies were counted in Batsari General Hospital, but another resident of the community, Hamisu said “the people that lost their lives in the attack so far are 26, and several others are still unaccounted for.
“Today, another two dead bodies were discovered,” he added.
HumAngle gathered that the state authorities ordered the burial of deceased bodies, however, Yasir Musa told our correspondents that “we wanted the dead bodies to be released to us individually, but the mass burial has been conducted and over 20 bodies were buried.”
Sources available to HumAngle revealed that the security personnel in the area mobilized and pursued the assailants after the attack.
Monday`s attack follows three separate incidents in the last two days in Shekawa, Kadawa and Dan-Alhaji communities in the same local government area where at least four people were killed, nine people kidnapped and an undisclosed number of cows were stolen.
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