Clashes between Muslim and Christian gangs subsided yesterday in the Nigerian city of Jos, where rights activists said the death toll has topped 200, but sporadic gunfire could be heard in neighboring communities.
Hundreds of soldiers and police were stationed throughout Plateau state’s capital city in central Nigeria to enforce a 24-hour curfew, which has left many streets deserted and businesses closed.
US-based Human Rights Watch said 151 bodies had been taken to the city’s mosque for burial since the violence started on Sunday, while the number of Christian dead was put at 65.
“The fighting has stopped in Jos, but we can hear gunshots in other communities in the outskirts of the city. We are expecting more corpses to be brought in from surrounding communities later today,” said Muhammad Tanko Shittu, a senior mosque official organizing mass burials, who estimated the death toll among Muslims at 155.
The official police figures were significantly lower with 20 people dead, 40 injured and 168 arrested since Sunday.
Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, in his first use of executive power, ordered troops to Jos on Tuesday to restore calm and prevent a repetition of clashes in November 2008, when hundreds of residents were killed in the country’s worst sectarian fighting in years.
It was not clear whether Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua, who has been in hospital in Saudi Arabia for nearly two months, had been briefed on the situation.
This week’s violence erupted after an argument between Muslim and Christian neighbors over the rebuilding of homes destroyed in the 2008 clashes.
A Reuters correspondent saw three burned bodies lying on the streets in Jos and several buildings and cars destroyed by fire. Armored vehicles and soldiers patrolled the city, while residents ventured outside with their arms held up to signal they were unarmed.
The city’s main hospital, Jos University Teaching Hospital, treated about 50 patients on Tuesday and was forced to turn away others. Two died from their injuries.
“Ninety percent of the casualties were from gunshot injuries with a few from knives and bows and arrows,” said Dabit Joseph, a doctor at Jos University Teaching Hospital.
The Red Cross has 40 staff workers and several volunteers at seven centers in Jos to help thousands of displaced residents, an agency spokesman said.
Residents said most people were staying indoors because of rumors that some gangs were dressed up in fake military and police uniforms.
“Government has received with concern reports of men in fake security uniforms attacking unsuspecting citizens. Measures are being put in place to tackle this issue,” Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang said late on Tuesday.
Nigeria has roughly equal numbers of Christians and Muslims, although traditional animist beliefs underpin many people’s faiths.
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