Attack kills 20 in Nigeria's central Plateau attack

KANO, Nigeria, June 23 - Police in Nigeria's central Plateau state said on Tuesday that 20 people had been killed in a weekend attack on a community in Bokkos district, the latest in a region plagued by communal attacks despite repeated security deployments and government vows to stem the attacks.

• Plateau is one of several ethnically and religiously diverse hinterland states known as the Middle Belt, where communal conflict has claimed hundreds of lives in recent years.

• Plateau police spokesperson Alfred Alabo said officers, working with other security agencies, engaged the attackers in a "fierce gun battle" early morning on Sunday before they fled.

• Eighteen people were killed at the scene and two died later in hospital, Alabo said.

• Plateau police commissioner Bassey Ewah has ordered additional deployments to the area including more tactical and mobile police units, Alabo said. REUTERS