Several days of attacks in the last week of February killed hundreds of people and sent thousands fleeing from largely Christian areas of Nigeria’s farming belt.
The armed attacks in and around Agatu, in the central Nigerian state of Benue, had features long familiar to Nigerians: ethnic Fulani cattle herders, largely Muslim, moving in on farmers, largely Christian.
Christians targeted
The long-running land conflict is frequently framed in economic terms, but it also has distinctive religious contours. Survivors quoted by Christian-rights advocates said the attackers specifically targeted Christians and churches and spared Muslims and mosques.
