In January four days of inter-religious clashes in Jos left about 300 people dead [AFP]
In January four days of inter-religious clashes in Jos left about 300 people dead [AFP]
Police sources on Sunday put the number of dead at just eight, but witnesses reported many more bodies, with one estimate rising to up to 200 people.
Scores of people are thought to have been killed in clashes between pastoralists from the surrounding hills and villagers close to the central Nigerian city of Jos.
Some of the bodies were reported to be charred and scarred by machete blows and the AFP news agency reported there were many children among the dead.
Yvonne Ndege, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Abuja, said: "There is conflicting information about the number of people who may have been killed.
"Police are saying about eight people have been killed but I have spoken to a number of people in Jos who said the number is higher."
The Associated Press news agency quoted witnesses saying 200 people were killed in the violence.
Security alert
Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's acting president, put security forces on red alert, ordering them to hunt down those behind the violence.
"The acting president has placed all the security forces in the plateau and neighbouring states on red alert so as to stem any cross-border dimensions to this latest conflict," a statement from Jonathan's office said.
Witnesses said that the pastoralists staged an overnight raid in the village of Dogo Nahawa, firing into the air and then attacking those who came out of their houses.
"They came around three o'clock in the morning and they started shooting into the air," Peter Jang, a Dogo Nahawa resident, said.
"The shooting was just meant to bring people from their houses and then when people came out they started cutting them with machetes," he said.
Ndege reported: "A senior police chief said the perpetrators of this attack came in from Bauchi state. [He said] the fighting exploded between herdsmen from Bauchi and villagers.
"The Red Cross, is reporting that as a consequence of this violence at least 5-600 people are leaving the area in fear of their lives."
Sectarian clashes
Nearby Jo, which lies at the at the crossroads of Nigeria's Muslim north and predominantly Christian south, has been the scene of sectarian violence before.
Hundreds of people were killed in four-days of violence in January.
Patrick Wilmot, a sociologist and African affairs analyst based in London, told Al Jazeera that the problems in the area of Jos stem from a lack of economic development.
"People from all over Nigeria came and settled in the area [of Joss]. There was hardly any trouble in the area 15 or 20 years ago, but [since] then the population has increased tremendously, [but] the resources have not increased.
"There are hardly any industry in the town. There is only one large factory. most of the economy is based o commerce and farming and as a result of huge unemployment the people have become very attached to their religious and ethnic identities.
"The political leaders are irresponsible, they manipulate these fears of religious and ethnic differences and as a result its a kind of tinderbox."
Jos liegt zentral in Nigeria

 Viele Tote wurden in der kleinen Ortschaft Dogo Nahawa bei Jos im nigerianischen Bundesstaat Plateau gefunden. Der Augenzeuge Peter Jang, der in dem Dorf wohnt, gab an, dass Hirten der Hausa-Fulani gegen drei Uhr morgens Schüsse in die Luft abgegeben hätten und nachfolgend die Menschen, die in Panik aus ihren Hütten flüchteten, mit Macheten abschlachteten.

Gregory Yenlong, der Sprecher des Gouverneurs des Bundesstaates, teilte mit, dass womöglich bis zu 500 Personen ein Opfer des Massakers wurden. Für diese Angabe gibt es noch keine unabhängige Bestätigung. Die Al-Dschasira-Korrespondentin Yvonne Ndege meldete, dass es über die Zahl der Opfer unterschiedliche Angaben gebe. Nach den Angaben der nigerianischen Polizei wurden acht Tote gefunden. Ein Reporter von Reuters habe in dem fünf Kilometer südlich von Jos liegenden Ort 103 Leichen gezählt, doch viele Tote seien über die Felder der Umgebung des Dorfes verteilt. 18 weitere Leichen sollen in der Leichenhalle des Krankenhauses von Jos liegen. Dem Reuters-Reporter zufolge soll es sich bei vielen der Getöteten um Kinder handeln. Nach Angaben des Roten Kreuzes sind fünf- oder sechshundert Bewohner des Dorfes geflohen.

Im Januar war es in Jos zu Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Christen und Muslimen gekommen, in deren Verlauf nach amtlichen Angaben 325 Personen getötet wurden. Diese hatten sich am Streit über den Bau einer Moschee entzündet. Danach wurde eine nächtliche Ausgangssperre verhängt. Jos liegt an der Grenze der überwiegend von Christen bewohnten Südhälfte des Landes und dem meist muslimischen Norden Nigerias. Deswegen kommt es immer wieder zu Gewaltausbrüchen. Diesen sind 2001 rund 1000 Menschen, 2004 etwa 700 und im Jahr 2008 rund 200 Personen zum Opfer gefallen.