THIRTY-NINE people have died and 30 were injured in fierce fighting between Christian and Muslim mobs in central Nigeria's Taraba state, prompting a round-the-clock curfew, police say.
Scores of houses were set ablaze and destroyed during the clashes in the town of Wukari on Friday, which come amid a surge in religious violence in the west African nation.
"We have so far compiled a death toll of 39 people, while 30 others were seriously injured," state police spokesman Joseph Kwaji said on Saturday.
Local residents say the death toll could rise.
"Thirty-two houses have also been destroyed in the violence," Kwaji said of the unrest, which has prompted authorities to impose an indefinite all-round curfew in the predominantly Christian city.
He added that 40 suspects were arrested in the aftermath of the violence.
State information commissioner Emmanuel Bello said that extra troops were deployed to the city on Saturday to bolster security.
"We have deployed more troops today to Wukari to ensure that the situation, which has been brought under control, is strengthened," he said.
The police spokesman Kwaji said Friday's violence erupted when the funeral procession of a traditional chief from the predominantly Christian Jukun ethnic group marched through a Muslim neighbourhood chanting slogans.
Tensions have been on the rise in Wukari since February when a dispute over the use of a football pitch between Muslim and Christian soccer teams set off sectarian riots that claimed several lives.
Friday's violence came a day after the state government inaugurated a committee to investigate the February violence.
It also follows a surge in violence and kidnappings in the restive north of Nigeria, the epicentre of an insurgency by Boko Haram Islamists, in recent months.
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