Nigerian police warn of rise in religious killings

Law and order authorities sealed off a northern Nigerian state hit by violence between Muslims and Christians and warned yesterday that the conflict might spread.

Law and order authorities sealed off a northern Nigerian state hit by violence between Muslims and Christians and warned yesterday that the conflict might spread.

Residents of Jos, a city of 4 million people in Plateau state, told reporters over the telephone that the killing was persisting, despite the deployment of the army on Saturday. Rival Christian and Muslim gangs were playing cat-and-mouse with police and troops, singling out people from opposing faiths and killing them when the security forces were not around.

The pace of the killing appeared to have slowed from its peak on Friday and Saturday, when witnesses said gangs were fighting in the streets with guns, machetes and clubs. One man, in a telephone interview, admitted helping to kill 10 people at a roadblock. (AP)