Gunmen kill 24 in Nigerian attacks

There has been a recent increase in attacks on communities in the two regions, blamed on gangs engaged in kidnapping for ransom and cattle rustling -- locally referred to as bandits, and on jihadist groups.

On Sunday, gangs killed 13 people in an ambush on a convoy of traders heading to a local market in Bukkuyum district of northwesten Zamfara state, three residents told AFP.

The convoy from Gwashi was heading to Gurusu for a weekly market when bandits opened fire, the sources said.

Three Bukkuyum residents said 13 people had been killed.

"The bandits killed 13 people in the ambush, including eight soldiers, one policeman and four traders, including a woman," said Lawal Muhammad, a local chief in Bukkuyum.

Eleven people, including three soldiers, were wounded and taken to hospital, he said.

The attackers ransacked vehicles and looted merchandise before burning three vehicles in the convoy, said Jamilu Umar, a Bukkuyum resident.

Al-Mustapha Muhammad, another Bukkuyum resident, said the route between Gwashi and Gurusu had "become a nightmare for travellers".

In a separate incident, suspected jihadists killed 11 people in an incursion in Borgu district of central Niger state near the border with Benin, two aid workers said.

Both said 11 people had been killed in the attack overnight from Saturday to Sunday.

"The Lakurawa terrorists killed 11 people, four of them vigilantes providing security to the village," one said.

Another said residents had fled into Benin for fear of renewed attacks.

Communities in mineral-rich, agrarian Niger state have continued to desert their homes due to an escalation of fatal raids by bandits and jihadists.