GUNMEN attacked a farming community in a part of north-western Nigeria that has been no stranger to violence killing at least 15 people, an official said on Saturday.

The assault took place on Friday in the Talata Mafara area of conflict-battered Zamfara state. 

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Abdullaziz Yari, a lawmaker representing the district at the national level, described the assault on the community as a “terrorist attack” in a statement on social media.

Yahaya Yari, no relation to Abdullaziz, is the elected local government chairman overseeing the area. 

He appeared in a viral video during the victims’ funeral on Friday evening, where he made an emotional appeal to President Bola Tinubu and the junior defence minister, who hails from the area, to intervene and end the widespread killings.

Earlier this month, gunmen killed 17 farmers and wounded at least 13 others as they worked in their fields in Goron Namaye in another part of Zamfara state.

An insurgency in northern Nigeria has killed thousands of people and displaced millions over the years, according to the United Nations. 

Armed gangs who kidnap for ransom, tax farming communities and engage in illegal mining are active in the north-central and north west parts of the country.