At least 14 villagers were killed and several others wounded in a gunmen’s attack on Efeyi village, in the Otukpo Local Government Area of Nigeria’s Benue state, local officials confirmed.

The attack, blamed on suspected armed herders, began Tuesday around 5 a.m. in the Ugboju District. Otukpo council chairman Maxwell Ogiri told Reuters the assailants struck without warning, and that similar incidents had occurred in nearby communities in recent days.

The violence fits a grim and recurring pattern in Benue state, which sits in Nigeria’s central belt and has long been a flashpoint for clashes tied to land and resources.

Benue is a hotspot for violence between farmers and herders, with hundreds killed in recent years as farmers attack cattle that destroy crops and herders retaliate against villages.

Fulani associations have rejected accusations of responsibility for such attacks in the past, and no group has claimed responsibility for this latest assault.

Residents fear the repeated attacks may be reprisals connected to the killing of Benue’s Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association chairman, Ardo Risku, and an associate, who were ambushed on June 26 while returning from a peace meeting.

Community leaders have repeatedly called on federal and state governments to strengthen security in vulnerable rural areas, while local officials have questioned why attacks continue despite the presence of military, police, and other security personnel in the region. Police say officers have since been deployed to the affected area and an investigation is underway.