Obasanjo visits massacre scene
2004-05-13 14:12
Jos, Nigeria - Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo arrived in the central Nigerian city of Jos on Thursday en route to the scene of a brutal ethnic massacre, his spokesperson said on Thursday.
Spokesperson Remi Oyo said Obasanjo would visit the Shendam local government area of Plateau State, including the mainly-Muslim town of Yelwa, which was attacked on May 2 by a militia from the Christian Tarok ethnic group.
Between 200 and 300 people are officially reported to have died in the assault, which has dramatically increased religious and ethnic tensions in Africa's most populous country and sparked riots in the northern city of Kano.
Obasanjo has appealed for religious and ethnic leaders to rein in their angry followers and vowed to use every means at his disposal to deal with the perpetrators of the violence and bring the crisis to an end.