Nigeria religious riot bodies found in village wells

An exact death toll is not known but aid workers say it may be 300
More victims of deadly religious clashes in central Nigeria have been found, with scores of bodies stuffed in wells and sewage pits.

Up to 150 bodies have been found in Kuru Karama village, 30km (18 miles) from the city of Jos, where the violence erupted last Sunday.

Correspondents say elders hid in holes for seven hours to escape the violence.

An exact death toll is not known but overall up to 300 are thought to have died in the Muslim-Christian clashes.

Several thousand people fled their homes.

'Burned alive'

The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Jos says many of the bodies found in Kuru Karama had massive burns, other victims were hacked to death or shot.


JOS, PLATEAU STATE

Deadly riots in 2001 and 2008
City divided into Christian and Muslim areas
Divisions accentuated by system of classifying people as indigenes and settlers
Hausa-speaking Muslims living in Jos for decades are still classified as settlers
Settlers find it difficult to stand for election
Divisions also exist along party lines: Christians mostly back the ruling PDP; Muslims generally supporting the opposition ANPP


In pictures: Nigeria riot aftermath
She says there are still more bodies scattered in the bush beyond the village but the areas are not safe for volunteer workers to enter.

Umar Baza, head of Kuru Karama village, told Agence France-Presse news agency: "So far we have picked 150 bodies from the wells. But 60 more people are still missing."

The Human Rights Watch group said armed men had attacked the mostly Muslim Kuru Karama on 19 January.

"After surrounding the town, they hunted down and attacked Muslim residents, some of whom had sought refuge in homes and a local mosque, killing many as they tried to flee and burning many others alive," it said in a statement.

It quoted one villager as saying: "I came back on Wednesday evening escorted by the military. I saw dead bodies everywhere. The corpses were there, but now you can just see the blood on the ground. None of the houses are standing."

The group called on Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan to order an immediate criminal investigation into reports of the massacre.

Mr Jonathan deployed the military after four days of clashes.

He has been issuing orders while President Umaru Yar'Adua receives medical treatment in Saudi Arabia.

The security forces have now restored order and a curfew has been partially lifted.

But correspondents say the atmosphere is still tense.

Jos, the capital of Plateau state, lies at the point where Nigeria's Muslim north and predominantly Christian south meet.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/8476534.stm

Moslems are troublemakers and must be stopped by any means possible,
I'm thankful to owners of Jos, Christain indigenous for standing up to, and repelled the devilish Moslem intruders

Wily wily, may Your generation bear the grunt of ur madness amin kun fa kum.

Abu zola
you must be funny if you give a f u c k about wilywily.the guy is a d i c k head