New massacre fears as 500 die in Nigeria

10 Mar 2010, 7:54 am   -   Source: AAP
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Christian villagers in Nigeria fled their homes following threats of new attacks in the aftermath of a massacre, despite the presence of troops in the region.

Christian villagers in Nigeria fled their homes following threats of new attacks in the aftermath of a massacre, despite the presence on Tuesday of troops designed to restore calm to the region.

As mass burials for some of the 500 victims of an orgy of violence took place near the city of Jos, condemnation poured in from world leaders and Acting President Goodluck Jonathan sacked his chief security adviser.

But observers warned that the government must tackle deep-rooted poverty in order to combat the underlying causes of the ethnic tensions which have seen thousands killed in the region in recent years.

While troops patrolled the three villages where members of the mainly Muslim Fulani ethnic group embarked on their killing spree, residents of neighbouring villages said they had already received new threats.

With a six-month-old baby strapped to her back, Patricia Silas, 30, and her two neighbours turned her heels on her village of Tin-Tin, saying she would not hang around to become another statistic.

"We are fleeing our village because we are afraid we might be the next target of attack by these Fulani," she told AFP.

"They have been making phone calls warning they are going to attack. We take these threats seriously, we don't want to be caught off-guard," she added.

Silas said the threats came from Fulanis previously settled in the village but who left after violence in January in which at least 326 people died.

"They are saying they want to avenge their loss," said Silas.

Officials said more than 500 people from the mainly Christian Berom ethnic group were hacked to death with machetes, axes and daggers in three villages of Dogo Nahawa, Ratsat and Zot on Sunday morning.

Survivors say the authorities did nothing to prevent the butchery which came at a time when a curfew first imposed after January's bloodshed was meant to be in place.

Thousands have been killed in recent years in strife in and around Jos, which is on the dividing line between the mainly Muslim north and Christian dominated south.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon was among those calling for calm while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also urged "all parties to exercise restraint".

However as relatives of the dead attended funerals, talk of revenge hung heavily in the air.

As a group of men huddled in small groups at Dogo Nahawa, one was overheard saying "we will take revenge".

Raymond Gboum, a Christian clergy organising rescue operations in affected areas told AFP tension was mounting in the villages.

"The Beroms in the area are really aggrieved and now it's like they are on the attack," he told AFP.

The UN's human rights chief, Navi Pillay, said she was appalled by the massacre but said the government had to tackle festering poverty.

"Better security is clearly vital," Pillay said, "but it would be a mistake to paint this purely as sectarian or ethnic violence, and to treat it solely as a security issue.

"What is most needed is a concerted effort to tackle the underlying causes of the repeated outbreaks of ethnic and religious violence which Nigeria has witnessed in recent years, namely discrimination, poverty and disputes over land," she added.

The weekend violence was just the latest between rival ethnic and religious groups.

Locals said Sunday's attacks were the result of a feud which had been first ignited by a theft of cattle and then fuelled by deadly reprisals.

Rights activists also said the slaughter appeared to be revenge for the January attacks, in which mainly Muslims were killed.

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