12 Killed in Jos again

Army authorities in Jos, capital of Nigeria’s central state of Plateau have confirmed the killing of 12 people after cattle thieves attacked their village.

Brig. Gen. Hassan Umaru told The Associated Press that the thieves attacked the village of Bere Reti Fan early Tuesday morning. He says they stole hundreds of cows.

Villagers have blamed Muslim herdsmen for the attack.

Bere Reti Fan is a Christian herder village south of Jos, the epicenter of religious violence in Nigeria’s “middle belt,” where dozens of ethnic groups vie for control of fertile lands. Politics, jobs and land often motivate violence that falls along religious lines