BAUCHI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen have killed more than 30 gold miners in a remote area of northern Nigeria, police said on Tuesday.

The attackers raided a camp of artisan miners late on Monday in the Maru area in the northwestern state of Zamfara, police spokesman Muhammed Shehu said.

The gunmen stole nothing, he said, adding that the motive for the attack was unclear.

In March gunmen attacked a camp in the same state, killing one miner in what a police official described as possible conflict between miners.

Nigeria has been trying to attract investment in its nascent mining sector but insecurity and a lack of data has dampened appetite of foreign firms. </s> KANO, Nigeria — Nigerian officials say armed bandits have killed 36 gold miners in northwest Zamfara state.

Survivor Isa Muhammad said many people are wounded and about 20 are missing. He said more than 50 gunmen invaded the informal mining site at Gidan Ardo Monday afternoon and seized people's belongings.

He said no security forces had arrived by Tuesday morning and residents fear another attack.

Police deputy superintendent Shehu Muhammad said soldiers and an anti-terrorism squad are on their way.

Zamfara state Gov. Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar promised to hunt down the perpetrators of the "act of terrorism."

Nigeria is suffering an Islamic uprising in the northeast, militants attacking oil installations in the south, deadly conflict between nomadic herders and farmers in the , cattle rustling, kidnappings and banditry. </s> The attackers raided a camp of artisan miners late on Monday in the Maru area in the northwestern state of Zamfara, police spokesman Muhammed Shehu said.

The gunmen stole nothing, he said, adding that the motive for the attack was unclear.

In March gunmen attacked a camp in the same state, killing one miner in what a police official described as possible conflict between miners.

Nigeria has been trying to attract investment in its nascent mining sector but insecurity and a lack of data has dampened appetite of foreign firms. </s> Armed bandits stormed a mining site in a remote village late Wednesday shooting at residents, Mohammed Shehu, a spokesman for the Kaduna State police told CNN.

"They ambushed 16 illegal gold miners and shot at them. Four people who heard the gunshots and ran to the site to assist were killed. They attacked another village and killed six people," Shehu said.

Dozens of armed men stormed Kuru Kuru village Wednesday evening, demanding gold from miners before opening fire, one resident said.

"They came when the miners were coming from the forest in the evening and started shooting asking for gold. They shot at everyone in sight as they escaped," Amisu Ahiru told CNN.

Zamfara State Commissioner for Information, Muhammed Danjari, told CNN a mass burial was held for those killed Thursday. "These attacks are very frequent and we need help," Danjari told CNN, saying 32 people were killed in a similar attack last month. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari visited Zamfara last month to console families and communities that suffered from violent clashes in the state. Two Americans and two Canadians kidnapped at gunpoint in Nigeria Armed robbery has been a long-running problem in Zamfara's gold mining communities where artisanal mining poses environmental and health hazards to residents. A Médecins Sans Frontières report estimates 400 children died of exposure to lead and 30,000 others were poisoned in the northwestern state in the world's worst recorded outbreak of lead poisoning in 2012. </s> Gunmen have killed 26 people in northern Nigeria's Zamfara state, in the latest in a series of attacks blamed on cattle thieves, a local official said Friday.

Men on motorcycles attacked gold miners near Kuru-Kuru village in Anka district late Thursday and clashed with residents from a nearby village who had mobilised in anticipation of the assault.

"We buried 26 people killed in the two attacks by the armed bandits," chairman of Anka local government Mustapha Gado Anka told AFP.

"The victims were miners from Kuru-Kuru that were attacked and residents of Jarkuka village who had come to help their neighbours," Anka said.

He said the assailants ambushed the group of volunteers from Jarkuka who had come to help.

Zamfara state police spokesman Mohammed Shehu confirmed the attack, but declined to give details "until after the police commissioner is briefed".

The killings were the latest round of tit-for-tat attacks by cattle thieves on farming communities in the state.

Last month, at least 36 people were killed in a similar fashion in nearby Bawar-Daji.

Gunmen on motorbikes invaded the village and opened fire on mourners who had gone to a cemetary to bury victims of a previous attack.

For several years, rural communities in the agrarian state have been under siege from gangs of cattle rustlers who carry out deadly raids on herding communities to kill, loot and burn homes.

In the absence of a robust police force and effective judicial system in Nigeria, villagers have created local vigilante groups to fight off the gangs.

But the vigilantes are equally responsible for the bloodshed and are also accused of extra-judicial killings.

Residents said the intensification of the attacks was because locals were cooperating with soldiers sent to quell the attacks.

"People have been cooperating with soldiers sent to fight the bandits and we believe this is why they have been launching renewed attacks," a resident told AFP.

In early April, the Nigerian air force deployed special forces to the state to reinforce troops on the ground fighting the bandits.

Following the Bawar-Daji attack, state governor Abdulaziz Yari ordered troops to shoot on sight anyone found with a gun in the area.

Nigeria, West Africa's largest economy, is battling an array of security concerns across the country, from Boko Haram jihadists in the northeast to oil militants in the south.

President Muhammadu Buhari has deployed troops in many states to combat cattle rustlers and criminal gangs and try and contain clashes between herdsmen and farmers. </s> Story highlights Armed robbery has been a long-running problem in Zamfara's gold mining communities

Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) Twenty six people, including 16 illegal gold miners, were killed after gunmen attacked several villages in northwest Nigerian state of Zamfara, state police said Friday.

Armed bandits stormed a mining site in a remote village late Wednesday shooting at residents, Mohammed Shehu, a spokesman for the Kaduna State police told CNN.

"They ambushed 16 illegal gold miners and shot at them. Four people who heard the gunshots and ran to the site to assist were killed. They attacked another village and killed six people," Shehu said.

Dozens of armed men stormed Kuru Kuru village Wednesday evening, demanding gold from miners before opening fire, one resident said.

"They came when the miners were coming from the forest in the evening and started shooting asking for gold. They shot at everyone in sight as they escaped," Amisu Ahiru told CNN.

Read More </s> Kano - Gunmen have killed 34 people in Nigeria’s northern Zamfara state where criminal gangs have been terrorising remote villages, police said Sunday.

Armed bandits on motorcycles stormed into neighbouring Tungar Kafau and Gidan Wawa villages in Shinkafi district late Friday and shot dead 34 people, state police spokesman Mohammed Shehu said in a statement.

“Normalcy has been restored in Tungar Kafau and Gidan Wawa... following attack by armed bandits... where 34 people were killed,” Shehu said.

He said the victims of the attacks were buried on Saturday, adding police were on the trail of the killers.

The bandits were said to have opened fire on farmers on their fields outside the villages and also pursued those who fled.

“The bandits killed 35 people in the attacks,” said Lawwali Madattai, a resident.

Rural communities in Zamfara state have for years been terrorised by criminal gangs who raid villages, stealing cattle, kidnapping for ransom and burning homes after looting food supplies.

The bandits are known to hide in camps in Rugu forest which straddles Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states from where they launch attacks on communities in the area.

Last week, at least 40 people were killed and dozens injured in raids in eight remote villages in Niger state. </s> At least 15 people have been killed in an attack by gunmen in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara state, police said on Saturday.

Police spokesman Mohamed Shehu said the killings took place in Zakuna village and the victims were members of a local vigilante group which resisted bandits who stole cattle.

"The police team deployed to the village discovered 15 bodies -- majority of whom were Yansakai members," he said, speaking to Anadolu Agency over the phone.

Zamfara has witnessed several deadly attacks by armed bandits notorious for stealing cattle and other violent crimes.

The government has established an army post and deployed fresh police contingents in the state.

While the attacks have reduced, locals continue to report attacks in remote villages.

Some 26 persons were reportedly killed in similar violence in late May in Gidangoga area of the state. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Vigilante groups and cattle rustlers have led to a number of clashes in Zamfara State

Gunmen have attacked a cinema in Nigeria's north-western Zamfara State, killing 11 people and injuring more than 20, witnesses and hospital sources told the BBC.

The suspected armed bandits opened fire at a village hall, where residents gather at night to watch films.

The cinema-goers panicked, many escaped with multiple gunshot wounds or broken bones, according to witnesses.

Amnesty International has warned about the escalating violence in the area.

It is not clear why the cinema was targeted, but villages in Zamfara State have come under heavy attack from armed bandits in recent months.

Witnesses say the attackers arrived in the village of Badarawa on foot on 12 September before heading to the hall, known as a viewing centre.

Hospital sources says some of the victims' injuries are life-threatening, while the dead have already been buried.

The police say security personnel have been deployed to track down the assailants.

Nearly 400 people have been killed in the state this year amid an increase in robbery, killings, and kidnappings for ransom, according to the rights group Amnesty.
Gunmen kill at least 30 people in an attack on a gold mine in a remote area of Zamfara State, northwestern Nigeria.