Muslim herdsmen in Nigeria have killed more than 60 Christians in coordinated attacks in seven villages this month, a Christian human rights group says.

The attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau State have displaced 1,000 Christians and destroyed 383 homes, International Christian Concern said in a release, citing local officials and news outlets.

Community representative Maren Aradong told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News that large numbers of “armed Muslim Fulani herdsmen” invaded their communities, “arriving on motorcycles and attacking us.” Plateau Gov. Caleb Mutfwang has called it “genocide.”

The attacks follow a brutal pattern of land-grabbing and religious violence in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, where Islamic militias have killed thousands of Christians in recent years.

Genocide Watch has described the West African country as “a killing field of defenseless Christians.” Nigeria ranks seventh on Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List, with more than 5,000 Christians killed in 2024.

• Emma Ayers can be reached at eayers@washingtontimes.com.