MAIDUGURI (Nigeria) – An estimated 200 or more people were killed in Zamfara, northwestern Nigeria, in a series of deadly reprisal attacks. Residents said that the attack was a result of military air strikes against their hideouts on Saturday.

They told Reuters that residents gained entry to the villages after being taken hostage by the military to conduct mass burials. The attack claimed the lives of 58 people, according to the government.

Ummaru Makeri was a local resident who died with his three children and wife in the attack. He said that around 154 bodies were buried, including many vigilantes killed. The death toll from the attack was estimated at around 200 according to local residents.

Reuters published Friday’s report that over 30 people were reported to have been killed in Zamfara’s Anka Local Government Area. More than 300 motorcycle-toting armed bandits stormed eight villages before sporadic shooting began on Tuesday.

According to intelligence reports, the military claimed that it conducted strikes on Monday morning against targets located in Gusami forest in Zamfara and West Tsamre villages in Zamfara, killing over 100 bandits, including their leaders.

The attacks on villages may have been linked to military strikes, according to a resident who refused to identify himself.

A series of terrorist attacks have occurred in Nigeria’s northwest. There has been an increase in violent crime and mass kidnappings since 2020, as the government struggles with maintaining law and order.

A separate incident saw 30 students taken from their Kebbi college, northwestern Nigeria, by an unknown assailant. They were released on Saturday, according to a Kebbi governor spokesperson, but he did not provide details.

According to President Muhammadu Buhari, the military acquired new equipment on Saturday to pursue and defeat criminal gangs who have terrorized people through illegal tax levy.

Buhari declared that “the latest attack by the bandits on innocent persons is an act in desperation and mass murderers now under relentless pressure by our military forces.”

Buhari said that the government will continue to use military force against bandits.