SCARS OF THE LAND

CARLO COZZOLI

 

June 15, 2025, Yelwata Nigeria — 200 dead. Children scarred by machetes, charred bodies, homes reduced to rubble. The Fulani herdsmen, responsible for one of the worst massacres in recent years, are devastating the central region of Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
This land, vital to the Muslim nomads for cattle migration, has become so coveted that it drives them to raze entire Christian communities.
Today, almost nothing remains of the village. Survivors’ testimonies speak of pure horror: nearly every one of them has lost a family member. Many were hacked to death, shot, or burned alive. Those who tried to rescue others now carry the scars left by flames they braved to save children or siblings from the Fulani-set fires.
Around 3,000 survivors now live displaced in the refugee camps of Makurdi, Benue — places the government tries to keep out of sight, further proof of the complicity of a Muslim-majority leadership fearful of losing political power if it takes decisive action to defend Christians. Fueling the violence is the resurgence of Islamic extremism in the cradle of Salafi jihadism, in the country’s north, where terrorist groups — Boko Haram and ISWAP foremost among them — exploit religious tensions to escalate the conflict and impose radical Islam.
This reportage, beginning in Maiduguri, retraces the latest moves of the insurgents. Pushed out of the city, Boko Haram has made the Sambisa Forest its stronghold. From there, it launches increasingly frequent attacks, exploiting the major roadways to strike and destroy small, scattered villages. 
Farmers, forced to work land outside protected areas, are easy targets for ambushes designed to extort, convert, or recruit them into extremist ranks.
One emblematic city is Pulka, in Borno State — now one of the largest refugee camps in the Sahel. Today, this city of 130,000 can only be reached safely by helicopter. Insurgents have encircled the camp, seeking a permanent presence in strategic zones along the Chad and Cameroon borders. Controlling these areas is essential for securing the illicit flow of weapons and money. Across the Sahel, the same jihadist networks apply identical methods to dominate key logistical hubs — and in doing so, control the region’s illegal trade.