KANO, Nigeria (AFP) – Nigerian police said Tuesday that at least 326 people died in Muslim-Christian clashes last week in the central Plateau State.
Police gave the first official death toll from authorities from days of bloodshed which broke out on January 17 in Jos, the capital of Plateau, and later spread to nearby villages and towns.
"From the figures available to the police ... 326 people were killed in the recent violence," police spokesman Mohammed Lerama told AFP.
However, other estimates from medical and aid workers and religious and community leaders put the toll at more than 550.
Christian resistance to the building of a mosque in a predominantly Christian neighbourhood sparked the violence. Other reports suggest a Muslim landowner was building a house that encroached onto property owned by a Christian.
"The clashes had no religious basis but (were) rather an affray hijacked in the name of religion by demons with a human face," said Lerama.
Leaders of both faiths have said the unrest owed more to the failure of political leaders to address ethnic differences than any religious rivalries.
The military deployed to quell the violence as it became apparent the killings were spiralling out of control for the local security forces.
Police said 313 people have so far been rounded up for suspected roles in the Jos killings.
Following the clashes in which some people in full military gear were reportedly arrested for suspected involvement, troop movements have been restricted, the army chief said on Monday.
The move was taken to avoid soldiers being dragged into the clashes or national politics amid tensions arising from President Umaru Yar'Adua's protracted absence from Nigeria for medical reasons.
"We are aware of the fact that there is tension in the country," the army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Danbazzau, told reporters in Abuja.
"We also got intelligence information that some people are trying to infiltrate our ranks," Danbazzau said.
Troops have been ordered to remain at their postings and only travel with permission to avoid attempts to pull the army into the violence.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has a history of military take-overs.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Paul Dike, warned members of the armed forces to steer clear of politics.
Yar'Adua has been undergoing treatment for a serious heart ailment in Saudi Arabia for more than two months. His absence has stalled governance across the board.
Adding to the uncertainty in the world's eighth largest oil exporter, former militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta warned Monday of signs of "restiveness" in the volatile region because of perceived let-downs by government.
Thousands of militants from the delta, in southern Nigeria, laid down arms last year under a government amnesty scheme proposed by Yar'Adua with promises of re-training and re-integration into society.
In a statement, top militant leaders Ateke Tom and Government Ekpemupolo warned that Niger Delta youths see the "lull in the implementation of the promises as a betrayal" by government, a feeling that could "further escalate" the situation.
Police gave the first official death toll from authorities from days of bloodshed which broke out on January 17 in Jos, the capital of Plateau, and later spread to nearby villages and towns.
"From the figures available to the police ... 326 people were killed in the recent violence," police spokesman Mohammed Lerama told AFP.
However, other estimates from medical and aid workers and religious and community leaders put the toll at more than 550.
Christian resistance to the building of a mosque in a predominantly Christian neighbourhood sparked the violence. Other reports suggest a Muslim landowner was building a house that encroached onto property owned by a Christian.
"The clashes had no religious basis but (were) rather an affray hijacked in the name of religion by demons with a human face," said Lerama.
Leaders of both faiths have said the unrest owed more to the failure of political leaders to address ethnic differences than any religious rivalries.
The military deployed to quell the violence as it became apparent the killings were spiralling out of control for the local security forces.
Police said 313 people have so far been rounded up for suspected roles in the Jos killings.
Following the clashes in which some people in full military gear were reportedly arrested for suspected involvement, troop movements have been restricted, the army chief said on Monday.
The move was taken to avoid soldiers being dragged into the clashes or national politics amid tensions arising from President Umaru Yar'Adua's protracted absence from Nigeria for medical reasons.
"We are aware of the fact that there is tension in the country," the army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Danbazzau, told reporters in Abuja.
"We also got intelligence information that some people are trying to infiltrate our ranks," Danbazzau said.
Troops have been ordered to remain at their postings and only travel with permission to avoid attempts to pull the army into the violence.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, has a history of military take-overs.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Paul Dike, warned members of the armed forces to steer clear of politics.
Yar'Adua has been undergoing treatment for a serious heart ailment in Saudi Arabia for more than two months. His absence has stalled governance across the board.
Adding to the uncertainty in the world's eighth largest oil exporter, former militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta warned Monday of signs of "restiveness" in the volatile region because of perceived let-downs by government.
Thousands of militants from the delta, in southern Nigeria, laid down arms last year under a government amnesty scheme proposed by Yar'Adua with promises of re-training and re-integration into society.
In a statement, top militant leaders Ateke Tom and Government Ekpemupolo warned that Niger Delta youths see the "lull in the implementation of the promises as a betrayal" by government, a feeling that could "further escalate" the situation.
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