Massacre In Zamfara: Gunmen Slaughter Over 20 In Gold Mining Village

At least 20 people have been killed in a brutal attack by armed gunmen on a gold mining village in Zamfara State, northwestern Nigeria, according to residents and Amnesty International.

The assault took place in Gobirawa Chali, a mining community in the Maru Local Government Area, on Thursday afternoon. Witnesses say hundreds of gunmen stormed the village, opened fire on miners, and engaged in a fierce gun battle, leaving a trail of death and destruction.

“We counted over 20 bodies,” said Ismail Hassan, a local resident. “They came in large numbers and just started shooting.”

Another witness, Isah Ibrahim, confirmed that at least 21 bodies had been recovered, with several others wounded in the chaos.

Amnesty International reported that the attackers went house-to-house, killing indiscriminately. “The gunmen moved from one home to another, executing residents,” the organization said in a statement.

The motive behind the attack remains unclear, but Zamfara State has long been plagued by heavily armed criminal gangs who engage in kidnappings for ransom and frequently target both civilians and security personnel.

Efforts to get a comment from the Zamfara State Police were unsuccessful, as the spokesperson did not respond to inquiries.

Northwestern Nigeria has seen a surge in violent attacks over the past two years. Armed gangs—often operating from deep within remote forests—have kidnapped and killed hundreds, exposing the limits of Nigeria’s overstretched security forces.

The military continues to battle multiple security crises nationwide, including a long-running Islamist insurgency in the northeast, deadly farmer-herder conflicts in the central region, and separatist unrest in the south.