Nigeria’s military says at least three people were killed after violence erupted in a market in a central region beset by religious and ethnic killings.
Brigadier Hassan Umaru told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the violence began when a policeman was stabbed to death at about noon on Tuesday in a small market in the city of Jos. He says he saw two corpses of stabbing and lynching victims in the market, and that seven people were wounded.
Nigerian Muslims observed the birthday anniversary of Islam’s prophet Mohammed on Tuesday.
Human Rights Watch says at least 1,000 people were killed in Jos in 2010 and another 200 more have died since Dec. 24. Violence there cuts across religious lines, but has roots in political, economic and ethnic strife.
