Red Cross aids victims of communal fighting

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in conjunction with the Nigerian Red Cross began distributing relief supplies on Tuesday to some 15,000 people "who are now in safety" after being displaced by fighting between Christians and Muslims in Jos, central Nigeria.

The displaced persons lost everything in the fighting, which erupted on 7 September. They received blankets, sleeping mats, plastic sheeting, buckets, soap and cooking utensils, the committee said in Thursday's issue of ICRC News.

ICRC said it had initially responded to the crisis by sending enough emergency medical supplies to treat some 2,000 injured people. "A delegate went to the scene to provide logistical support for the work in progress, assess security conditions and, above all, draw up a plan to meet any needs that had not been covered by action already taken by the authorities or other humanitarian organisations," ICRC said. "By the end of last week, several thousand people had returned to their homes while those whose homes had been destroyed stayed wherever they could.

"Many others left for other parts of the country," ICRC added. It quoted sources close to the government as reporting 500 dead. "The Red Cross counted 928 people injured," it added. "Hundreds of vehicles were set alight and some neighbourhoods were completely destroyed."