Government sends team to investigate religious clashes in Jos

Nigeria's government has sent a high-powered ministerial delegation to Jos to assess and hold consultations on the crisis in the central Nigerian town, where clashes between Christians and Muslims have claimed many lives and caused widespread displacement, Nigerian television reported on Wednesday.

The delegation is also expected to visit neighbouring Bauchi, Jigawa, and
Kano states, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) said.

Fighting broke out in Jos, capital of Plateau State, on 7 September following the appointment of a Muslim to a senior post in the mainly Christian town. Calm returned to the city on Tuesday, but there were fresh clashes on Wednesday in Jos and other parts of Plateau, Radio France Internationale (RFI) reported.

The exact death toll was still uncertain. The state authorities originally said 51 people had died, but other sources reported about 165. RFI on Thursday quoted a local newspaper as reporting that the military had quietly buried 500 victims of the clashes in a mass grave on Monday. According to RFI, the Red Cross confirmed that an 'important' mass burial had taken place.

NTA said religious and other bodies continued to help people displaced by the violence and that a dusk-to-dawn curfew was still in force in Jos and another affected area, Bukuru. The IDPs, mainly women and children, have been staying at locations such as the Jos police headquarters, air force primary school and central mosque, some throughout the day and others only at night.