/ 6 November 2001

10 KILLED IN CLASHES IN NIGERIA

TEN people were killed and many hundreds fled their homes in weekend fighting between Christians and Muslims in northern Nigeria, witnesses said on Sunday. The fighting broke out late on Friday and continued on Saturday between rival communities in the locality of Gwantu in the Sanga local government area of Kaduna State. Troops had been dispatched to the area to put an end to the unrest, they said. The cause and full extent of the fighting was not clear but it initially appeared localised. Residents of Kaduna said that security had been strengthened in the city, with more police and troops on the streets than normal, to forestall any reaction to the incident in Gwantu. Most of those who fled their homes in the community were Muslims, who are in a minority in Gwantu, the residents said. In February last year, between 2 000 and 3 000 people were killed in clashes between Muslims and Christians in Kaduna over calls for the introduction of Islamic law in the state.