Nigeria deploys troops after 14 killed in land feud

By Anamesere Igboeroteonwu

ABAKALIKI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria has deployed troops in the remote southeastern state of Ebonyi after 14 people were killed and scores of buildings destroyed in clashes between rival groups feuding over land, police said on Saturday.

The violence between the Ezillo and Ezza of Ishielu district first erupted last month following a dispute over the land where a telephone booth was installed.

The violent clashes, which flared again this week, were not reported before because the district is remote and inaccessible.

The fighting has forced thousands of villagers to flee to the state capital, Abakaliki, witnesses said.

"Some military men have been sent to the area to help the police get to the hinterland," Fredrick Nudam, Ebonyi state police spokesman said. "The number of deaths since the clashes began is now 14," Nudam said.

Witnesses from the disputing communities gave a higher death toll and said the combatants were now using guerrilla tactics in their offensives.

A spokesman for the main hospital in Abakaliki said four mutilated bodies were brought to the facility from one of the communities during the week.

"Two were male, two were female. The bodies of the men were decapitated, that is they were headless," the spokesman said.

Violent disputes over land are common in Africa's most populous country because the majority of its 140 million people are subsistence farmers living in rural areas. Hundreds of people are killed every year in such clashes.

(For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: africa.reuters.com/ )

(Writing by Tume Ahemba; Editing by Ibon Villelabeitia)