Hospitals unable to cope

2008-12-01 13:01

Abuja - Hospitals in Nigeria on Monday were failing to cope with the number of casualties following weekend clashes between Christians and Muslims in the city of Jos, the capital of central Plateau State, reports said on Monday.

Doctors were not able to keep up with hundreds of victims of gunshots and stab wounds, while severe shortages of medicines and dressing materials were also causing problems, a spokesperson of the aid organisation Oxfam told the British Broadcasting Corporation.

At least 200 people were reported killed in the clashes that erupted at the weekend after local elections in the state. A local cleric earlier estimated the number of fatalities at more than 300.

The Nigerian Red Cross on Sunday also estimated that 10 000 people had fled the violence in Plateau state, which is located between the predominantly Islamic North and the Christian South of the country.

A federal spokesperson blamed external forces for prompting the unrest. Some of those arrested in the clashes were from Chad and Congo, he told the BBC.

Jos has a history of sectarian violence between indigenous Christians and Muslim settlers. More than 1 000 people were killed in clashes seven years ago, and mosques, churches and other properties have been razed to the ground in the violence.

Gun battles between security agents and the protesters continued as the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission announced Saturday that the ruling People's Democratic Party won in 16 of the 17 council areas. - Sapa-dpa

- SAPA