Nearly 30 dead in northern Nigeria gang violence

At least 28 people have been killed in gang violence in northern Nigeria, police and local residents said on Friday, in the latest unrest causing security concerns for the government. Twenty-six people lost their lives on Thursday evening when gunmen on motorcycles attacked gold miners in the Anka district of Zamfara state.
In a separate attack also on Thursday, two police officers on patrol were shot dead and six people were kidnapped in the Birnin Gwari area of neighbouring Kaduna state. Meanwhile there were reports that up to 25 people may have been killed in clashes between farmers and nomadic cattle herders in Taraba state but police did not confirm the death toll.
Nigeria, West Africa's largest economy, is battling an array of security threats across the country, from Boko Haram jihadists in the northeast to oil militants in the south. Troops have been deployed in many states to combat criminal gangs involved in kidnapping and cattle rustling, as well to try to contain violent clashes between herdsmen and farmers.