This thread focuses on @Reuters reporting of land-related violence in Nigeria's Middle Belt which killed thousands of people in 2018. We tracked land use by analysing satellite data and visited the region throughout the year. tmsnrt.rs/2GrBm9U 1/11 
Over 1,300 people were killed in the Middle Belt in the first 6 mths of 2018, @CrisisGroup estimates - six times more than #BokoHaram in that period. And @amnesty says more than 3,600 people have been killed in clashes since 2016, mostly this year. reut.rs/2A4Y4PB 2/11
Reuters journalists studying satellite data found a massive expansion of farming in Nigeria meant open grazing land available in Nigeria's Middle Belt declined by 38% between 1975 and 2013 while the area dedicated to farming nearly trebled. 3/11
We also visited the Middle Belt throughout the year, starting with the aftermath of killings in the first week of 2018 that left 73 dead. We looked at the impact the bloodshed has had on community relations, politics and people's lives. reut.rs/2Bmkko7 4/11
Lives have been destroyed. Peter's life will never be the same again. We first met in early January. He lay in a hospital bed recovering from an attack by herders in which he was hacked with a cutlass across his head, arms and legs. Doctors feared he'd lose his right eye. 5/11
Peter and I met again in November. His head, arms and legs are covered in scars, but he didn't lose an eye. Unable to work, he sold his farm but can't afford physiotherapy. His son was 3 weeks old when the attack happened. Peter's hands no longer move, so he can't hold him. 6/11
Many of the conflict’s roots lie in degradation of pasture in the far north of Nigeria amid growing desertification - where fertile land turns into desert for reasons including over-exploitation and drought. 7/11
Violence is a campaign issue ahead of Nigeria's election in February. President Buhari, a former general, came to power in 2015 after vowing to improve national security but we found clashes had eroded support for him in Middle Belt swing states reut.rs/2MuNuFz 8/11
Many fear seasonal patterns mean there's likely to be a spike in violence during the election in February. That's because herders usually travel south in search of water in the dry season which peaks between January and April. That typically causes more fighting over land. 9/11
Fighting over land in Nigeria goes back decades and looks set to intensify as the country's population grows while its land mass remains the same. The @UN predicts Nigeria's population will reach 400 million by 2050 - more than double the present 190 million. 10/11
The clashes over land relate to multiple factors ranging from government policies aimed at encouraging farming to population growth, climate change and people fleeing #BokoHaram. You'll find more details in our story and interactive graphic. 11/11 tmsnrt.rs/2GrBm9U
