LAGOS
At least 20 people were reportedly killed Sunday following renewed ethnic fighting in Nigeria's Taraba state, residents have said.
"Up to 20 people have been killed while several others have sustained varying degrees of injuries," Tsa-asen Agbu, a local youth leader, told reporters. "Several houses were also burnt."
The clash is said to be between Jukun and Fulani tribes in Tunari village of Wukari local council area of the northeastern state.
Agbu claimed that the fighting began with Fulani people launching "an attack on our Christian brothers" around 10am.
Police spokesman Joseph Kwaji confirmed the latest round of fighting in Wukari, which has been a flashpoint of ethnic clashes in the past.
He was, however, silent on casualties.
"Tunari village in Wukari local government council was attacked this morning by the Fulani people but our men drafted to the scene have restored peace," he said.
Anadolu Agency's efforts to speak with the Miyeti Allah, the umbrella body for the Fulani, did not succeed.
Taraba - like Plateau in the Nigeria's north central - has long been an epicenter of clashes based on ethno-religious distrust between the Jukuns, who are largely Christians or animists, and the Hausa/Fulani herdsmen, who are essentially Muslims.
But observers believe the crisis is fuelled more by desire for sociopolitical and economic dominance than by any other factors.
By Rafiu Ajakaye
www.aa.com.tr/en
