As the world celebrates Christmas today, the mood in parts of the troubled Southern Kaduna of Kaduna State, North-West Nigeria, is that of sorrow.

The latest to join the mourning that has become the lot of Southern Kaduna are the people of Goska Kanikon village in Jemaa Local Government Area. Many persons in the village are said to have been killed on Christmas eve when heavily armed men attacked the area.

An indigene of the area who witnessed the incident Saturday evening, told Channels Television that the heavily armed gunmen invaded the village at about 6:00 p.m. local time, opened fire on the residents and also set houses ablaze.

He further said that “many villagers have fled from their homes to neighbouring communities” while there is no presence of security operatives in the area.

The Spokesman for the Kaduna police command, Usman Aliyu, said that he was not aware of the fresh attack, but promised to confirm and give further information about the incident.

The latest attack is coming barely four days after indigenes of Southern Kaduna staged a protest in Kafanchan, the headquarters of Jemaa LGA, against the continued killing of their people by suspected herdsmen. Goska Kanikon community is about eight kilometres from Kafanchan.

The attack is happening on a day that both the General Officer Commanding One Division of the Nigerian Army and the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police visited Kafanchan to assess the progress of troop operations in Southern part of Kaduna State where most of the attacks occurred.

•Adapted from a Channels TV report.