The Head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, has offered prayers for the rural Christian communities affected by the recent killings in Benue State.

This was after armed men stormed the town of Yelewata, in the Guma administrative region of Benue State, and killed over 200 people.

In a terse statement, Pope Leo said the attack, which happened from June 13 to June 14, was a massacre with extreme cruelty.

He lamented that majority of the victims were internally displaced persons hosted by the local Catholic mission.

“I pray that security, justice and peace will prevail in Nigeria, a beloved country afflicted by various forms of violence. And I pray in particular for the rural Christian communities of Benue State, who are incessant victims of violence,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Benue State Government has said it is consistently engaging with federal security agencies, traditional rulers, community leaders, and relevant stakeholders to strengthen security interventions and provide lasting solutions to the persistent attacks.

In a statement on Sunday, the state assured that more tactical teams have started arriving from the Federal Government and additional security deployments are being arranged for vulnerable areas.

“Response Squad Teams are also deployed and will be in Benue from Sunday, strategic community dialogues are ongoing to enhance active intelligence sharing,” the state said.