At least three persons from Ndiagu Okpotiumo in Abakaliki local government area of Ebonyi state have been reportedly killed following attacks by suspected hoodlums from a nearby community in Obubra local government area of Cross River state.
Also, over 20 other persons sustained bullet or machete wounds in the attacks, it was gathered.
The attackers were said to have invaded the community at about 2 pm on Monday and started burning houses and shooting on sight.
At the time of filling the report, about 14 victims of the attack who were brought to the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Monday night were still receiving treatment at the emergency ward.
Azuoffia Edda community in Abakaliki LGA was involved in a violent clash with a neighboring community in Obubra in Cross River state a month ago over boundary disputes.
A medical doctor from the community, Lawrence Nwangele, said he received a call from the people of his community around 4.30pm about the development.
He said he was asked to be on alert as they were bringing victims of the attack to the hospital in Abakaliki.
Nwangele explained that 15 persons were brought to the hospital but one of them died on arrival.
He said the others were receiving medical attention in the hospital.
While some of the victims said they were attacked in their farms, others said they were attacked at their homes by the hoodlums.
They all acknowledged that they had been having land disputes with the Cross River state people and had lost over 70 persons to incessant attacks.
A victim, Peter Oche, alleged that the attackers invaded the community with sophisticated weapons.
Another victim, Sunday Ugoru, said they were farming when the hoodlums came and started destroying their farms and that when they tried to stop them; they started attacking them with guns and machetes.
Another victim, who gave his name only as Julius, said his community had suffered a series of attacks as a result of the intractable land disputes.
Police spokesman in Ebonyi state, Jude Madu, confirmed the development and said the command had moved in reinforcement to control the situation.
The spokesman, however, said he was yet to ascertain the number of casualties as a result of the attacks.
