Jos under curfew after clashes

2008-11-29 16:10

Lagos - The central Nigerian city of Jos was under a partial curfew on Saturday with police ordered to fire on anyone who breaks it, following deadly clashes over the result of a local election, local media said.

Radio Plateau said the governor of Plateau state, Jonah Jang, had ordered the curfew in four districts of the city, where several people were reported killed and hundreds injured in clashes between Christians and Muslims on Friday.

A correspondent for Radio France Internationale at Jos, Aminu Manu, told AFP that incidents of violence were still being reported in the volatile city.

A brief government statement late Friday said that President Umaru Yar'Adua had sent in army troops to contain the situation.

Death tolls have varied wildly, with a local journalist for the Punch newspaper saying 55 were killed on Friday, while a local police spokesperson said one police officer had died.

The Nigerian Red Cross said more than 300 people had been injured and "some" killed.

Local residents said several churches and mosques were razed in the violence, which started with a rumour that the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) had lost the election to the federal ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP).

The ANPP is perceived locally to be a predominantly Muslim party, and the PDP to be mainly Christian.

Jos is the administrative capital of Plateau state and one of the biggest cities in Nigeria. It was the scene of a week of violence between Christians and Muslims in September 2001 that left hundreds dead.

- AFP