Nigeria, May 21 -- Competition for resources required for crop farming and grazing has driven the conflict between Hausa farmers and Fulani herders, two populations with close cultural ties in Nigeria's northwest, according to a new report, which highlights other layers of violence that have precipitated humanitarian and economic challenges in the region.

The report - "Violence in Nigeria's North West: Rolling Back the Mayhem" - released this week by the International Crisis Group highlighted the farmer-herder conflict alongside Jihadi infiltration and a multiplicity of criminal activities, including kidnapping, robbery, and illicit trade in drugs and solid minerals, as having caused the atmosphere of insecurity and violence plaguing the...