Local Nigerian government officials say gunmen have killed some 100 people in three villages in the central part of the country.

Daniel Anyip, vice chairman of the local government, said on Sunday that the fatal attacks were carried out in the villages of Ugwar Sankwai, Ungwar Gata and Chenshyi in the southern part of Kaduna State.

“From our records, in all the three villages attacked, only five houses are standing while people killed are about 100. These are villages that housed a lot of people but they are now homeless,” said Anyip.

Nigeria police have confirmed the carnage.

Fulani herdsmen were behind the assaults that began two days earlier and ended on Saturday morning, according to the police.

Eyewitnesses said people who attempted to run for their lives were either gunned down or killed by machetes. Countless houses were also set ablaze.

A Chenshyi villager said that over 40 attackers stormed the village and killed more than 50 residents and destroyed all the houses in the village.

No group has claimed responsibility for the fatal attacks so far.

The semi-nomadic, cattle-herding Fulani way of life has led to decades of conflict between Fula people and farming communities across central and northern Nigeria.

Fulani herdsmen usually encroach on and destroy farmers’ land, especially during the dry season, resulting in clashes with the farmers trying to stop them from using their farmlands as feeding ground for their cattle.