Many feared dead, 300 injured, 50 missing as two Anambra communities clashThere are indications that many people lost their lives, while no fewer than 300 farmers sustained various degrees of injuries during the communal clash between Umumbo and Omor communities in Ayamelum local government area of Anambra State.
About 50 persons allegedly abducted during the clash are still missing, according to findings, while many houses, shops and rice mills were reportedly destroyed.
The speaker of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Mr. Uche Okafor, representing the constituency in the state legislature, was accompanied by heavily armed military and mobile policemen to mediate in the crisis .
The two communities are among the major food-producing areas of Anambra State, where rice and other grains are produced in large quantity.
A report by Vanguard said the latest squabble was the high point of a protracted land dispute between the two communities, which started during the last dry season.
According to an eye witness, a section of one of the communities allegedly breached the gentleman’s agreement reached between the two traditional rulers of the two communities sometime last year, thus igniting the latest clash.
Following the clash, many people ran away from their houses for fear of being killed, as both communities pushed towards each other in a severe confrontational manner.