 Nigerian machete-wielding attackers kill 8 people
At least eight people have been killed in an attack by machete-wielding assailants near the city of Jos in Nigeria.
 
The unidentified attackers descended on a village on the outskirts of Jos, burning about 10 houses, early on Saturday, officials said.
Some reports said the dead included the family of a Christian priest.
Clashes between rival communities - Hausa Muslims and Berom Christians - have left hundreds dead this year.
Witnesses said the men attacked the family of Rev Nuhu Dawat
in the village of Mazah, 12km (7 miles) from the state capital of Jos, killing his wife, two children and a grandson.
The priest ran for his life, later telling Reuters news agency: "I leave everything to God to judge."
Plateau State Police Commissioner Gregory Anyating told Reuters the authorities were trying to find out "the root causes of the violence", but it had not spread to other villages.
Deadly riots in 2001, 2008 and 2010 left hundreds of people dead.
Although the clashes take place between Muslims and Christians, observers say the underlying causes are economic and political.
>> 
Latest News
Rwanda president's widow held in France over genocide
Somali journalists face death threats, kidnappings
Security Council Renews Arms Embargo And Sanctions
|
Libya: oil price rises as fightback unsettles market

A fightback by troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has dashed hopes of an early end to the conflict after rebels swept into the capital to be joined by many residents.
Brent for one-month forward delivery rose $109.25 early on Monday before slipping back slightly. It closed up $1.34 at $109.70.
"It could take months before oil can start to flow again from Libya," said John Vautrain, a director at energy consulting firm Purvin & Gertz.
"I think there was a lot of euphoria on Monday. But the whole country is not completely pacified yet and we don't have an organised government. A lot is lacking." Libya would be able to restart some oil output in a few months, said Shokri Ghamen, the country's former top oil official on Monday, but it would take as long as 18 months to reach the pre-war level.
..>>
 |
|

Top Headlines
|
|
At least 600 people have reportedly died and unconfirmed reports indicate almost 1,000 others were wounded during clashes between the Murle and Lou Nuer communities in Jonglei, the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said in a press release.
The attacks have followed large-scale cattle raids - a persistent problem in South Sudan - by members of the two groups which have led to the theft of between 26,000 and 30,000 cattle.
Many homes have also been destroyed during the fighting, UNMISS said, and local authorities have reported that nearly 200 people may have been abducted and thousands of others displaced.
Voicing deep concern about the attacks, Hilde Johnson, the head of UNMISS and the Secretary-General's Special Representative for South Sudan, urged all ethnic communities to exercise restraint.
"This cycle of violence must stop," she said. "That so many people have been killed and injured again in such wanton destruction is unacceptable."
Johnson said reconciliation efforts are urgently needed and she pledged the mission's willingness to support such a process.
An assessment and verification team from UNMISS has already visited the areas where the clashes took place and will return yesterday to help local authorities facilitate reconciliation efforts.
"The security of all South Sudanese people must come first," Johnson stressed, adding her condemnation of the looting and destruction of humanitarian facilities in Jonglei.
>>
Other News
|