Terrorists Attack Mourners During Mass Burial Of Christians Killed In Plateau [Video]

Several people have been killed, and many others injured, after gunmen attacked villagers in the Fan district of Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State during a mass burial.

The incident happened on Wednesday afternoon while residents were burying seven Christians who had been killed in an earlier attack the night before.

It was gathered that the attackers had been watching from nearby hills before suddenly moving into the community and opening fire as mourners were digging graves.

An eyewitness, Masara Kim, said the situation was chaotic, with about five communities coming under attack at the same time.

He explained that those at the burial site had only managed to dig a shallow grave when the gunmen attacked.

Kim said, “So right now, there is an ongoing attack, a massive attack, actually, in communities 20 miles south of Jos. We are told the communities are more than five right now that are experiencing simultaneous attacks.

“Right under my eyes, I saw a man fall after he was shot by a terrorist, who emerged from surrounding hills and started shooting and advancing in the direction of the community where I was, where we were observing, witnessing the burial of seven people who were killed last night in a village located in the Fan district of Barkin Ladi local council.

‘”So while the mass burial was ongoing, we got information. Actually, before the mass burials commenced, while locals were digging the mass graves for the seven people, we got information that the terrorists were advancing. They were mobilizing to launch an attack.

“And so the mass grave was just a little below two feet, but they had to abandon the digging and just dump the bodies in them.

“There wasn’t any official funeral rites yet. You know, there was just a prayer, very brief, and they had to just be buried. And moments later, there were incoming gunshots. And right in front of me, a man fell. He was one of the civilian defenders who were managing to protect the defenseless civilians using homemade pipe guns and hunting rifles.

“Eventually, all of us were overwhelmed and the entire community was overrun. And we had to run for our dear lives.

“The video you saw, the first video, the first video was me just standing in the outskirts of the community, just recording what was going on. We could hear gunshots in the distance, but we didn’t realize how close it already was.

“By the time we realized how close it was, people were already falling, and they had already come too clos. and we had to run and abandon our vehicle in the center of the community.

“I just made it out of safety, but for those that are left behind, they’re going to have mercy on their souls.” 

Kim said he managed to escape but could not confirm the number of casualties due to the confusion and tension at the scene.

Meanwhile, Rwang Tengwom, spokesperson for the Berom Youth-Moulders Association, described the situation as very serious.

He said there were fears that the group’s president was trapped in the affected area.

Tengwom, who was on his way to the scene, said efforts were being made to reach and rescue those still caught in the violence.

He added that more details would be shared once they arrived and assessed the situation.

“I am on a bike now to the place. The situation is quite bad and we learnt that our president is trapped. We’re going there to rescue him by all means,” he said.

Watch the video below:

KanyiDaily recently reported how 20 security operatives and local vigilantes were killed after bandits attacked a joint patrol team in Plateau State.