Ethnic rivals clash in Nigeria
2004-04-27 18:56
Lagos - Rival ethnic fighters battled with guns and homemade bows and arrows in a central Nigeria state, killing at least four, residents and police said on Tuesday.
The clashes between Tarok farmers and Fulani herdsmen broke out on Saturday in Plateau state over "allegations of cattle rustling," said Sotone Wakama, a senior police official in the regional capital, Jos.
By Monday, police reinforcements had calmed the area, but at least four died in fighting, Wakama said by telephone.
One resident who fled the fighting, Bala Shagaya, said he saw 20 people killed in the clashes, which saw fighters firing modern weapons as well as traditional bows and arrows. Wakama, the police official, couldn't rule out a higher death toll.
Ethnic and religious tensions have been high in Plateau state after a burst of sectarian violence between Christians and Muslims in 2001 killed more than 1 000.
Since oppressive military rule gave way to representative democracy in 1999, ethnic and religious violence has flared, killing more than 10 000 people in the west African nation. With over 126 million people, Nigeria is Africa's most-populous country.
- AP