20 killed in attack in northwest Nigeria near Niger border

ABUJA: Suspected militants from the Lakurawa group killed 20 people in an attack in northwestern Nigeria near the border with Niger.

Fighters from the group raided the Fesken Rafi community in Kebbi state's Arewa district and attacked residents there. The assailants were responsible for "killing more than 20 victims" in the border area.

The raid took place a few days earlier, though no precise date was provided. Local media reported the incident only over the weekend after Kebbi state's deputy governor visited the area.

Report points to renewed Lakurawa activity

The attack followed a period of reduced violence by Lakurawa in recent months, indicating what it described as a possible resurgence by the group. The assault may have been meant to demonstrate the group's ability to carry out complex operations despite intensified military action against it.

The United States military carried out strikes in parts of northwestern Nigeria on December 25. The Nigerian government said at the time that the operation targeted Islamic State fighters, the Lakurawa group and criminal gangs commonly referred to as bandits. It remains unclear how many people were killed in those strikes or which groups they belonged to.

The motive behind the latest attack was not known. It noted, however, that jihadist groups and armed criminal gangs involved in kidnappings and cattle theft have in recent weeks attacked and abducted farmers who did not pay levies imposed on communities in exchange for allowing cultivation of their fields in northern and central Nigeria.

Border insecurity and wider concerns

Lakurawa has continued to operate in communities along the Nigeria-Niger border despite efforts by security forces to drive it out of Kebbi state. It warned that the group's violence could develop into a transnational threat because of its multinational composition, which complicates counterterrorism operations.

Some researchers have linked Lakurawa to Islamic State in the Sahel, which is mainly active in Mali and neighbouring Niger, although others remain doubtful about that connection.

Nigeria has faced a long-running jihadist insurgency led mainly by Boko Haram and its rival faction, Islamic State West Africa Province. That conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.