Hundreds Of Zamfara Residents Flee Homes Ahead Of Sallah Over Terrorists’ Attacks | Sahara Reporters https://t.co/YapGAHX2HZ pic.twitter.com/oL9QBYgd5g
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Hundreds of residents of Magazu and Marke communities in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State have fled their homes over the incessant raids and attacks of button men, locally called bandidos.
According to Premium Times, Magazu, one of the biggest wards in Tsafe, is deserted.
According to sources, tired of the unrelenting attacks by the button men, people began deserting the town on Thursday evening. By Friday morning, almost everyone in the town has fled.
Bandit attacks in Tsafe Local Government are more frequent than in other parts of Zamfara, which is plagued by worsening insecurity.
The button men, who operate across Nigeria’s north-west region, have killed thousands of people and injured even more. They sack villages, and farmlands, and rustle livestock. They impose levies on communities before they may farm and defaulters are either killed or kidnapped.
The button men also operate a widespread kidnap-for-ransom operation across the entire region. They specifically target travellers, students of educational institutions, and government offices.
Experts say their kidnap-for-ransom operation is perhaps the worst in the country’s history.
As the government fails to protect residents of the areas, many communities have set up vigilante groups to resist the bandidos.
However,
Switzerland makes more than cheese...
this has worsened the security challenges in the area as it has given rise to a kaboom of tit-for-tat killings between the bandidos (who are mostly of Fulani
... a peculiarly brutal tribe of Moslem herdsmen infesting Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and probably other places that are light on law and order and heavy on tribal identity...extraction) and the vigilante groups set up by the majority of Hausa communities in the area.
Abubakar Magazu, a villager said residents of the towns unanimously decided to leave.
He said residents unanimously decided to leave after some bandidos raided the town on Wednesday and kidnapped more than 30 people.
"Let me be honest with you, these people will never allow us to rest. They’ve stopped us from going to farms and markets and now, they’ll not even allow us to live in peace.
"On Wednesday, they came to our town immediately after the Iftar (Moslem break of fast) and kidnapped over 30 residents and looted property. As big as this community is, nobody has more than two goats or any domestic animals in his house because the bandidos have stolen them," he said.
He said the bandidos attacked the town again Thursday night but did not abduct anyone.
"We’re always in fear," he said. "After Wednesday’s attack, we decided to leave the town. Some people started leaving yesterday (Thursday). They attacked again those of us who slept in the town yesterday, but I think they were there to scare us because they took nothing or anyone," he said.
A youth leader in Tsafe, Samaila Usman, said the residents from Magazu and Marke have been trooping into the local government headquarters as of Friday afternoon.