More than 80 Nigerian Christians have been slaughtered at the hands of radical Islamic herdsmen this month, with major Christian groups decrying the “inhuman” violence, as survivors describe what it felt like to be hacked by machetes.
Persecution watchdog group International Christian Concern said on Monday that more than 80 Christians have died in Benue State since Jan. 1, with 50 deaths in Logo and another 30 in Guma County.
The shooting and machete attacks have been carried out by Fulani herdsmen, nomadic Muslims who graze their cattle throughout the country, and for the past couple of years have been targeting Christian farmers who stand in their way.
Survivors described some of the attacks, with one man identified only as Vershima explaining how he and others had been ambushed on Jan. 3 by armed Fulani.
The herdsmen “opened fire on us, killing three of the people I was conveying and injuring me,” the man said, who was shot in the chest and left for dead.