2 clergymen and 17 parishioners were killed in an attack by an armed group on the Catholic Church of St. Ignatius in the village of Ayar Mbalom. Benue State, Nigeria. The Daily Post reports. After the execution of believers in the temple, the criminals burned down 35 houses and plundered the property of local residents. According to Ovoseni Fatai, the state police commissioner, the attack took place at five o'clock in the morning, while mass was being held at the temple. Several other local Christians were killed on the same day during the burial ceremony. The main suspects in the massacre of people are nomadic shepherds belonging to the Fulbe people. Most of the latter are Muslim, while the sedentary population of the state is Christian. The state of Benue is located on the conditional border of residence of both, and clashes between nomads and farmers are not uncommon here: the population of the state is growing, while the nomads are more and more insistently claiming fertile land and abundant water sources, which are used by local farmers. In the last two years alone, more than three hundred people have died here as a result of violent attacks on local residents.
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