Abuja, Apr 5 (UNI) At least 52 people were killed and others injured during the week by suspected gunmen in central Nigeria, local authorities said Friday.

The attacks since Wednesday night have caused panic across communities in the Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. The assailants fired indiscriminately at locals and set homes ablaze, Farmasum Fuddang, head of the Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard, told reporters in the state capital of Jos.

Fuddang has been leading other volunteers in combing nearby bushes for bodies. "At least 31 people were given a mass burial on Thursday," he said.

Also on Thursday, the bodies of five young victims in the village of Hurti were found, Fuddang said, adding that 16 other bodies were found during the search across several villages in the Bokkos area.

The motive for the latest bloodshed is unknown. Bokkos is one of the most frequently attacked areas in Nigeria's Plateau State, which is in the country's central belt between the Muslim-dominated north and the Christian-majority south.

In a statement, the Plateau State government condemned the attacks, saying security agencies had already arrested some suspects concerning the "unfortunate development."

Armed attacks have been a primary security threat in Nigeria's northern and central regions, leading to deaths and kidnappings in recent months.

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