, 18 tweets, 5 min read Read on Twitter
Zamfara in the last 7 days, like the week before it, reveals how the Military and the armed groups are engaged in a cat and mouse game. Human life remains short and brutish, as about 100 people were abducted and over 30 killed in the past week alone.
The state still suffers at the hands of armed men, including areas that witnessed a lull, following Police & Military deployments. The military is not also smiling with many of the people they were deployed to save. So far they have accused hundreds of complicity in the killings.
On Friday, four people were kidnapped in Jangeme along Gusau Magami road. The following day, three persons were also killed and scores abducted on the road to Sabon Birni from Anka by another band of armed men in #Zamfara.
The village of Maakwa was attacked during the weekend at about 7pm. Scores of the men in the village were killed and at least 60 women, including children disappeared into the forest. They are still being held by their abductors.
Many of the displaced villagers from Maakwa (pictured here), remain stranded with no official support till date, while vigilante members from Zonai/Dandabi villages planned a counter attack to rescue the women and kids. No news yet on the rescue operations.
In a new twist, local Vigilantes from Mai Awaki, Ruwan Tofa and Malele villages in Dansadau Emirate have seized dozens of Fulani women, suspected to be related to the armed groups and have vowed not to release them until the armed men release members of their own communities.
This step may likely spark another round of reprisals and worsen the mistrusts between the Hausa ethnic clusters and the Fulani people in the area that is at the root cause of the crisis. The villagers disagree, "it has worked in the past," said a community leader in #Zamfara.
"It started in Tofa when some Fulani armed groups invaded the community and took away some women, it was on a Thursday. The Dansadau market operates on Friday, which the Tofa people took advantage of and also seized a number of Fulani women and their little ones.
A few days after, the Fulani groups released the women in their custody and the Tofa community also freed the Fulanis." This is how the villagers got the idea that tit for tat abductions remain the best solution because most of the villagers have now ran out of money for ransom.
Even the armed groups, according to sources, have stepped up abductions in neighbouring states like #Kaduna, where the chances of getting money for ransom are most likely. Without the hideouts in Zamfara many of these armed groups will find it difficult to operate in the region.
Another reason that emboldened the villagers to now resort to tit for tat abduction and killings is, the recent heavy military deployments may not have stopped the killings, but have definitely reduced the number of armed men and their capacity to carry out major attacks.
According to sources familiar with the crisis, Dansadau remains the stronghold of bandits, with a very thick vegetation, until now there is no permanent military presence there apart from occasional raids that the military undertakes. This is indeed worrying.
Kuyanbana is a major forest in Dansadau, connecting Zamfara to Katsina, Kaduna & Niger. It is there that Jihadis were seen over the years. Sources familiar with terrorism activities in #WestAfrica and the #Sahel said, the forests have been a runaway destination for many Jihadis.
The Sunke forest in Anka, close to #Bagega, where mining activities are taking place. Sububu Forest in Shinkafi and Dumburum Forest in Zurmi, in each of these forests there are different armed groups that are not necessarily linked, but they rarely clash with one another.
The Jihadis are in the minority in the region, but are quite influential because they play the role of preachers of faith and seem to be more knowledgeable in weapons handling and combat, therefore, the criminal elements see them as added value and a dependable ally.
As long as there is no complete take over of the Kuyanbana and Sunke forests in particular by the military with a minute by minute surveillance system in place, the forests will remain home and the operational base of the different components that make up the crisis in the NW.
However, Vigilante sources insist that recent heavy military deployments in the state have made the armed groups uncomfortable in the forests and they no longer have the capacity to hold large number of captives for ransom. This is some progress to the ongoing military operatns.
The military on its own part must not only focus on silencing public outrage, they should as well work towards developing a sustainable plan that embraces everyone in the region to address this crisis.

Additional reporting by
Yusuf Anka,
Lawali Abdullahi,
Ubaidullah Kaura.
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