Curfew in central Nigeria after weekend massacres

09/07/12 08:34 CET

world news

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Authorities in parts of central Nigeria have imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew after dozens of people died in community violence over the weekend.

Two politicians were among several people killed on Sunday when gunmen attacked a funeral for dozens of people who died during attacks on Christian villages the previous day.

Officials blame Fulani herdsmen for the violence in the ethnically mixed Plateau state in Nigeria’s “middle belt” where the largely Christian south meets the Muslim north.

The Fulani claim the military opened fire on them.

The area has long seen a power struggle between local tribes and migrants.

The Islamist sect Boko Haram has claimed several suicide bomb attacks on churches in the area but there was no sign it was involved in the weekend’s fighting.

More about: Nigeria, Violence in Nigeria

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