Trump has begun another trade war. Here's a timeline of how we got here
Canada's leader laments lost friendship with US in town that sheltered stranded Americans after 9/11
Chinese EV giant BYD's fourth-quarter profit leaps 73%
You're an American in another land? Prepare to talk about the why and how of Trump 2.0
Chalk talk: Star power, top teams and No. 5 seeds headline the women's March Madness Sweet 16
Purdue returns to Sweet 16 with 76-62 win over McNeese in March Madness
By Ahmed Kingimi
MAIDUGURI (Reuters) -A gang of gunmen kidnapped more than 50 women and children in a raid on Kakin Dawa village in Nigeria's northwest Zamfara state, police and residents said.
Kidnapping for ransom by gunmen, known by locals as bandits, is rife in northwest Nigeria due to high levels of poverty, unemployment and the proliferation of illegal firearms.
Zamfara police said the incident took place on Sunday and that additional security forces were being deployed to the area.
Residents said dozens of assailants riding on motorcycles arrived in the village at around 1230 GMT, armed with assault rifles, and went from house to house kidnapping residents.
"Later we found out that they kidnapped more than 50 women, including married women and girls," said Hassan Ya'u, who escaped the attack but whose younger sister was taken.
"We are appealing to the federal and Zamfara state governments to send more soldiers and security personnel to fight those bandits," he said.
There is widespread insecurity in northwest Nigeria, while a 15-year Islamist insurgency has plagued the northeast of the country and gang and separatist violence affects the southeast.
"We are currently waiting to hear the kidnappers' demands for the release of the abducted individuals," said Abdulkadir Sadia, another resident of the village. "The entire community is in distress."
(Writing by Elisha Bala-Gbogbo; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Hugh Lawson)
