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Curfew in Kaduna following bloody clashes

    ABIDJAN

    A dusk-to-dawn curfew was still in force in the northern Nigerian town of Kaduna on Wednesday, one day after it was imposed following ethnic and religious clashes, news organisations reported.

    The clashes, on Monday and Tuesday, are believed to have started after residents of a mainly Christian neighbourhood blamed Muslims for the killing of a local man. Police reports put the number of deaths at 43 but media organisations said more than 100 people died during the two days of violence. Churches and mosques were burned, the reports said.

    Kaduna was reported to be calm on Wednesday, the BBC said, although streets were littered with corpses.

    Unlike the violence between Muslims and Christians in Kaduna in February which saw the city centre in flames, this week’s clashes were restricted to the poorer neighbourhoods, news organisations reported.

    The BBC said thousands of people fled their homes and sought refuge in military barracks and police stations.

    Tension has been high in the city since February’s clashes, which occurred during a demonstration over the implementation of Islamic Sharia law. Those clashes left well over 100 people dead, according to conservative estimates, while Kaduna-based human rights groups said up to 300 people may have been killed.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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