Tribal militia armed with guns, machetes, and bows and arrows killed about 25 people in three days in a land dispute in the central state of Plateau, authorities and witnesses said on Thursday. The blackened shells of at least 20 houses could be seen on the outskirts of the deserted town of Namu, 100 km (75 miles) east of the capital Abuja, which has been at the centre of the dispute between two rival tribal alliances. Troops prevented journalists from entering town, firing warning shots into the air, but fleeing residents said militia allied to the Pan tribe staged a coordinated assault on rival ethnic groups in the remote farming town on Monday morning. "Those people were well prepared. They took us unawares. A big group of them, many hundreds of them, arrived with guns, machetes, bow and arrows, cutlasses and knives," said Nasiru Samaila, a 33-year-old yam trader from Namu. "They surrounded the town and they started killing people and burning houses," said Samaila, who fled Namu on foot with his wife and two children. --More 0045 About 25 killed in Nigerian land dispute 2 Namu, Nigeria The family have been sleeping under a tree in the nearby town of Sabon Gida Bakin Kogi with hundreds of other refugees since then, waiting for help from the government. Authorities said the area had witnessed revenge attacks on two subsequent days, and state governor Joshua Dariye issued security forces with a shoot-to-kill order for troublemakers. Families could still be seen fleeing Namu on foot, by motorcycle and car on Thursday, carrying mattresses, chairs and cooking utensils. An emergency services source said 20 to 30 people were killed in three days of sporadic fighting since Monday. One local newspaper estimated the toll at more than 100.
