At least 30 people have been killed and several others abducted after gunmen raided a village in Nigeria.
Police said the gunmen stormed into Kasuwan-Daji in the Borgu area of Niger state, in the north of the country.
After opening fire at residents, they also razed the local market and several houses, Niger state police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said in a statement.
At least two residents put the death toll at 37 and said it could be much higher as some people remained missing.
Residents also said security forces had yet to arrive in the area, contradicting the police claim that they had deployed officers to search for those kidnapped.
The Rev Stephen Kabirat, spokesman for the Catholic Church of Kontagora Diocese where the attack happened, told local media that the gunmen killed more than 40 people and some of those abducted were children.
The gunmen had been lurking around nearby communities for about a week before the attack, according to a resident who asked not to be named for fear of his safety. Now survivors are too afraid to go to recover the bodies.
“The bodies are there (in Kasuwan-Daji). If we don’t see any security, how can we go there?” the resident said, adding that the attack lasted for up to three hours.
Such attacks are common in Africa’s most populous country, where dozens of gangs seeking control often target remote communities with limited security and government presence.
Saturday’s attack in Kasuwan-Daji happened near the Papiri community, where more than 300 schoolchildren and their teachers were kidnapped from a Catholic school in November.
The attackers who raided Kasuwan-Daji arrived from the National Park Forest along Kabe district, according to the police, pointing to a trend where abandoned and expansive forest reserves act as hideouts for armed gangs.
