No fewer than 34 persons mostly women and children were killed by unknown gunmen on Wednesday in Kwahaslalek village and other communities in Halle Ward of Mangu Local government of Plateau State. This occurred despite the 224-hour curfew imposed by the State government.
The National President of the Mwaghavul Development Association, Sir Joseph Gwankat disclosed the unfortunate incident to newsmen in Jos.
Confirming the development, he said 31 persons killed were mostly women and children at the village behind the NYSC Camp Mangu while three of their youths were shot down with bullets in Mangu town and eleven houses were burnt down
Sir, Gwankat also disclosed that the Community had conducted the mass burial for those killed on Wednesday.
An eye witness from the community told our Correspondent that for the second time, the village Kwahaslalek ( Behind NYSC camp) on Wednesday morning at about 1:00 am was attacked leaving over 30 people mostly women and children killed as houses burnt and some with gunshots.
It was also gathered that several homes and Places of worship were razed down.
Another eye witness Danat Hosea said the skirmishes which happened at Mangu town were a decoy to pave the way for the attack on the community which is not far from the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC permanent orientation camp at Jakatai, Mangu local government area.
He added “What happened at Sabon Gari and Mangu on Tuesday was just a distraction so that people’s attention will be shifted away from the villages. ”
“At about midnight there was a gunshot and the women ran to one compound for safety unfortunately, terrorists went there and killed them while the men were keeping vigil outside the community
The victims were killed at a community Leader’s house where they ran for refuge.
Security personnel who preferred anonymity said, “Mangu town is calm but we were called in the early hours of today about a development around the communities close to the NYSC camp, our people are there but the deed had been done.
The victims are mostly women and children, they ran to hide there because they thought the place was far and the attackers wouldn’t go there but the attackers were conveyed in a vehicle and dropped there before they attacked.”
It could be recalled that Governor Caleb Mutfwang who is determined to ensure lasting peace in the state had declared a 24-hour curfew on the Mangu Local Government Area of the state with immediate effect on Tuesday.
However the security agencies are yet to make an official statement on the attacks, the Police Public Relations officer DSP Alfred Alabo said they are putting effort to ensure that normalcy is returned back to the Mangu Local government but couldn’t confirm the number of those killed at the time of this report.