Parts of central Nigeria have seen a spate of killings recently amid growing violence between herdsmen and farmers.

Nigerian police say gunmen have killed at least 11 villagers in an attack in Plateau state, a central region riven by conflicts over land rights between mainly Christian farmers and Muslim nomadic herdsmen.

The incident occurred late on Sunday in Lopandet Dwei Du village just outside state capital Jos, Terna Tyopev, police spokesperson, said in a statement on Monday.

Tyopev said at least 11 people were also wounded in the attack and transferred to hospital.

Plateau and other parts of central Nigeria have witnessed a spate of killings in recent months as herdsmen in search of grazing land and water for their cattle attack villages inhabited by farmers and retaliatory assaults.

The conflict has killed 1,500 civilians in the first half of 2018, six times more than the Boko Haram armed campaign, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).

Since the violence escalated in January, an estimated 300,000 people have fled their homes, the group said.

The growing violence between the herdsmen and the farming communities further heighten ethnic and religious tensions in advance of Nigeria’s general elections scheduled for early next year.