Nigeria, March 29, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Armed men killed 10 people in a village in central-northern Nigeria -- a region regularly rocked by inter-communal violence -- several local sources said on Friday.

Ruwi village, where the attack happened, is in Plateau State, which lies on the internal border between the mostly-Muslim northern half of the country and the largely Christian south.

It is a state that sees regular flare-ups of violence between nomadic herders and pastoral farmers.

On Thursday night, unidentified men "came into the community shooting sporadically, and killed 10 people", Moses John, a village leader, told AFP.

"Three other people are injured and have been taken to the hospital. I can't tell you exactly why we are attacked," added Joshua Maren, a villager who called on authorities to send "security personnel to come to our rescue".

The police spokesman for the Plateau State command, Alfred Alabo, confirmed the attack in a statement Friday, but did not comment on the number of victims.

"The Command received a report of some unknown armed hoodlums who invaded Ruwi village at about 9:20 pm (on Thursday) and started shooting sporadically," he said.

"As a result, some law abiding citizens of the community who were at a ceremony mourning the demise of their loved ones unfortunately lost their lives, while others secured varying degrees of injuries," he said.

Joyce Ramnap, the state's information commissioner, urged the country's security forces "to hunt and track down the perpetrators of the heinous crimes and ensure justice for the victims".

Tensions have soared in the state since about 200 people were killed at Christmas 2023 during a bloody attack on a majority Christian village.

In May last year, around 40 people were killed and homes torched in the town of Wase.