Situation report: Central Zamfara forests (Tsafe–Maru–Anka)
Named danger area.
| Level Extreme |
Coordinates 12°12′00″N 6°21′00″E 12.2000, 6.3500 radius ≈ 65 km |
Covers 7 LGAs |
Report date 2026-09-28 |
The densest concentration of armed-group camps in the north-west, with mass abductions and levies imposed on villages.
Map: LGAs shaded by twelve-month ACLED intensity (2025-10 to 2026-09); black outline = this named danger area; dashed = state lines; squares = military installations (town level).
Conflict intensity, last twelve months (ACLED)
| Political-violence events | 395 |
| Deaths in those events | 843 |
| Attacks on civilians | 254 |
| Civilians killed | 475 |
| LGAs at extreme | 5 |
| LGAs at high | 2 |
| LGAs at elevated | 0 |
Where it concentrates
| LGA | Level | Civ. killed | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anka | Extreme | 161 | steady |
| Talata Mafara | Extreme | 104 | steady |
| Maru | Extreme | 73 | steady |
| Maradun | Extreme | 47 | falling |
| Kaura Namoda | Extreme | 39 | falling |
| Birnin Magaji | High | 26 | rising |
| Bungudu | High | 25 | steady |
How it developed
Archive record
5 incidents in the Dustline archive fall here, with 36 deaths recorded.
| Date | Place | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-21 | Gusau, Zamfara | Security forces intercept transit truck loaded with 5,000 rounds of live ammunition in Gusau |
| 2026-07-09 | Anka, Zamfara | Troops repel massed bandit assault on Bagega mining community in Anka |
| 2026-06-16 | Maradun, Zamfara | Operation Fansan Yamma raids bandit logistics suppliers in Maradun corridor |
| 2026-02-09 | Maru, Zamfara | NAF air strikes destroy bandit kingpin logistics enclave in Bingi forest |
| 2026-01-05 | Anka, Zamfara | Troops of Operation Hadarin Daji neutralise 8 armed bandits in Wuya forest sweep |
Military installations within 150 km
| 8 Division | Sokoto | 149 km |
Advisories and named areas
US travel advisory: Zamfara State — Kidnapping (Level 4, do not travel).
Named danger areas: Rugu Forest (Katsina–Zamfara)
Limits
- ACLED counts recorded events. Rural violence is under-reported everywhere, and more so where journalists cannot go.
- Levels summarise twelve months; a road can change within days. Current advisories and local security briefings outrank this report.
- Approximate extent drawn as a circle around a well-known location. It marks where danger is concentrated, not a line inside which it begins; the areas around it are not implied to be safe.
Sources: Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), www.acleddata.com — aggregates via HDX, as of 25 September 2026. Boundaries: OCHA COD-AB Nigeria (CC BY-IGO). Map base: Natural Earth (public domain), naturalearthdata.com; state boundaries OCHA COD-AB Nigeria (CC BY-IGO). Archive: Dustline snapshot of dustlinemap.online, 22 September 2026. Advisory: US Department of State.