Muslim militants in Nigeria have torched four more villages in Nigeria and murdered more than 35 Christians, including women and children.

Some of the murdered children were barely more than babies, aged under two. Bodies were burned so badly they were unrecognisable.

International Christian Concern reported that 200 Fulani herdsmen attacked four villages in Kaduna State. Churches, homes and other buildings were gutted. Thousands of people were displaced.

The Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SKPU) described the attack.

"It has now become abundantly clear to even the worst sceptics that Southern Kaduna has become a killing field, where genocide is taking place unabated. Clearly, our zone and our people under the support of a powerful group of terrorists that are well funded, are systemically being eradicated," the organisation said.

The SKPU said this latest "pogrom" left whole villages completely burnt to the ground. It is calling for permanent military and other defences to be installed in areas vulnerable to attack and for land seized by the militants to be returned to the lawful owners.

"The villages that have come under the onslaught of the terrorists have also been calling for deployment of security personnel in the forest, mountains and flashpoints rather than the highways, but these calls have not received any favourable response," said the SKPU. "The pattern that has emerged, sadly now, is that attacks occur with impunity usually followed by fire fighting and feeble cosmetic measures by security agencies and the government that have failed to yield any dividend."

The attacks came just one day after the unveiling of a "public apology billboard" at a busy roundabout in the area, and a pledge by the State Governor to donate millions of Nigerian dollars to rebuilding places of churches and the Shia mosques that have also been destroyed in the violence.

The union insisted security must be improved first. "The rebuilding of churches and mosques will not serve useful purpose where the villages are deserted and unoccupied."

These attacks were in Nigeria's middle belt. World Watch Monitor reports that between January 2013 and May 2016, 826 Christians have been killed and 878 injured and 102 churches destroyed or damaged.

Baroness Cox, who narrowly escaped an ambush by Islamist Fulani militants on a visit to the plateau state of Jos in Nigeria a few days ago, said in an interview with Hassan John that was passed to Christian Today: "We must love Muslims as people, we must reach out to Muslims as brothers and sisters.

"We are all part of our Lord's creation but also we must be very aware of the threats from the militant Islamism, the kind represented by Boko Haram and where aggressive Islam is determined to establish its caliphate.

"That is what we need to pray about. We need to pray for the government of Nigeria, we need to pray that there will be preservation of democracy and freedom and justice in Nigeria, and that is very much a prayer focus for the Christians in the north.

"For the Christians in the rest of Nigeria, when one part of the body of Christ suffers we all suffer. I would have hoped to have seen more support from the peaceful parts of Nigeria and the very wealthy churches particularly in the south for brothers and sisters suffering up here... I think we should all try to be worthy of the faith that the Nigerian Christians are living and dying for up here in this part of Nigeria in the central belt and in the north."