Dozens of armed motorcyclists rode to an illegal mining site on Monday and shot dead five miners. When gang members then entered a neighboring village, twelve soldiers were killed.
According to one of the local leaders interviewed by AFP, the attacks were revenge for miners killing a gang member who had allegedly threatened them.
For years, heavily armed gangs have terrorized northwestern Nigeria, looting villages, stealing livestock and subjecting the local population to violence. The gangs often target gold mines, demanding control of the sites and a share of the gold.
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