1 Dec 2008

Nigerian city tense after riots

At least 200 people have been killed in the Nigerian town of Jos after two days of violence, officials say.

A curfew has been imposed by police and army officers in the worst-hit neighbourhoods, and an army spokesman said the fighting was over.

However, aid workers reported that gunshots were still heard on Sunday, while medical and water supplies were running low. The violence was sparked by accusations that an election had been rigged.

Homes were destroyed during the clashes, with mosques and churches burned, as gangs of men from the Muslim Hausa community and the mainly Christian ethnic groups, armed with machetes fought.

The information minister for Plateau State, Nuhu Gagara, said about 200 people died.

BBC NEWS