Gunmen kill 15 villagers, abduct five aid workers in Nigeria

Gunmen killed 15 villagers and abducted five aid workers in separate attacks in Nigeria's troubled norrn region, authorities said Thursday.

assailants arrived in Benue state’s Apa area and opened fire on villagers in ir homes, according to David Olofu, a senior state government official. He said military personnel were among those shot in attack and many houses were razed as villagers fled to safety.

incident in Benue is latest in a spiral of violent attacks in which armed groups are targeting remote communities across Nigeria's northwest and central regions, often defying government and security measures.

More than 80 people have been killed in Benue in past month in such attacks. No group has claimed responsibility for killings, though authorities have blamed Fulani herdsmen, a group of mostly young pastoralists from Fulani tribe caught up in Nigeria’s conflict between host communities and herdsmen over limited access to water and land.

In norastern Nigeria, meanwhile, Islamic extremists abducted five aid workers in Ngala, Borno state, where an insurgency against government has raged on for more than a dece.

aid workers included three staff members and two contractors of international non-government organization FHI 360, all “working to provide lifesaving medical care to people of Nigeria,” organization said Thursday, without furr details on incident.

FHI 360 condemned abduction of workers and called for ir “unconditional, immediate and safe return,” according to a statement from Iorwakwagh Apera, NGO's director in Nigeria. “Our priority at this time is to support our team and ir families,” said Apera.

Boko Haram extremist group has been waging a bitter war against Nigeria since 2009, and insurgency has spre over years to neighboring countries of Cameroon, Niger and Ch. A breakaway faction of group formed in 2016 and became known as Islamic State in West Africa Province and is notorious for targeting security forces and aid workers.