Taraba killings death toll hits 42

The death toll in weekend’s Tiv farmers’ killings in Taraba State has risen to 42, it was learnt on Monday, Nation reports.



The hacking to death of the farmers by suspected Fulani militia in Gassol Local Government Area has spilled to many Tiv villages, in spite of police and military presence in the area.
The meeting by Commissioner of Police Yunas Babas, State President of Tiv Cultural and Social Association (TCSA) Goodman Dahida, President of Fulani’s Miyati-Alla, the Lamdo Gassol and security agencies to broker peace was fruitless.
Police, soldiers, Dahida and the Senior Special Assistant to Taraba State Governor, Hon. Jerry Tyolanga, confirmed the rise in death toll.
Six persons were gunned down in Sabon Gari; 16 were slain in other villages. Among them were three women, eye-witnesses according to
News24 .
Four trucks conveyed bodies, which were killed. The bodies recovered from the “bush villages”. They were being taken to neighbouring Benue State.
There was mass exodus of Tiv from Dan-Anacha –fleeing Taraba to Benue State where a bulk of their ethnic group resides.
The displaced persons looked frustrated, most of them carrying heavy loads, children and domesticated animals but without transportation fares. Some were loudly crying and wailing over the loss of their loved ones.
The renewed attack and killings of Tiv farmers began on Saturday in Dan-Anacha, whose name was recently changed to Kwararafa, as the state was busy at a “Peace Concert” in a stadium in Jalingo –the state capital – organised by Governor Darius Ishaku.
Police spokesman David Mishal, who confirmed the killings, was still being expected to brief the press on the details on Monday.
He described the incident as “undercover attacks where you invade someone’s home and attack him when there is no war going on”.