Abuja: A dusk to dawn curfew has been
imposed in south-eastern Nigeria where two days of fighting
between Nsadop and Boje communities over land dispute led to
the death of 13 people.
Churches and residential houses in Nigeria`s Cross
River state were also burnt, forcing the deployment of armed
policemen and soldiers to subdue the hostility.
Police spokesman for Cross River State, Etim Dickson,
said the fighting commenced on Sunday and continued yesterday.
Authorities have recovered 13 burnt corpses after
unrest linked to a land dispute in southeastern Nigeria that
also led to the burning of dozens of houses and churches.
"Security men have restored peace to the area,"
Dickson said on phone.
Cross River state is located in the Niger Delta, the
country`s main oil-producing region.
Communal fighting over land was predominant in the
south-eastern part of the oil rich African country more than
two decades ago.
They`re often settled through a peace meeting between
the feuding villages.
The most recent was a fratricidal war between the
Aguleri/Umuleri and Umuoba Anam communities that claimed
several lives in Anambra State between 1995 to 1999.
Land dispute develops among the communities occupying
the equatorial rain forests because they are predominantly
farmers.
Similar fighting often break out in the northern
region where the population is mostly pastoral because of
grazing ground for cattle.
Nigeria, Africa`s most populous nation, has been hit
by unrelated unrest in a number of areas this year, including
clashes between Christians and Muslims in the country`s
central region.
PTI
