Abidjan — The deaths of hundreds of people in a week of religious violence in Nigeria's central Plateau state, in September could have been avoided if the government had heeded warnings from NGOs, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday in a report titled 'Jos: City Torn Apart'.

The report called on Nigeria's government to guarantee an impartial, thorough investigation into the deaths of "as many as 1,000 people" who "are believed to have been killed in just six days as Jos, capital of Plateau State, was rocked by unprecedented violence between Christians and Muslims".

Peter Takirambudde, Executive Director of HRW's Africa Division said in the report: "There were clear signals that trouble was brewing in Jos, but these signals were ignored. Effective government action is urgently needed if the violence in hot spots across the country is not to flare up again and cause thousands of more deaths."

According to HRW, from 7 and 13 September, the city of Jos became the "scene of mass killing and destruction for the first time in its history. Christians and Muslims were both perpetrators and victims". Thousands of buildings were smashed or burnt, homes and businesses were looted, and some villages, such as Dilimi on the outskirts of the city, were virtually razed to the ground. But, said the report, government authorities and security forces failed to take action that could have saved hundreds of lives.

"Several non-governmental organisations directly approached state government, police and military authorities to warn them of the impending dangers. Explicit threats by both Muslim and Christian groups were not taken seriously by the government. The warnings were effectively ignored", said HRW.

The report, which details the background to the clashes, accused the security forces of involvement, saying 22 detainees who attempted to escape from Jos Prison on the night of 9 - 10 September, were shot dead by the police.

"The Nigerian government should ensure that the two commissions of inquiry set up to investigate the crisis carry out full, independent investigations, and make their findings public," HRW report said, adding that those responsible should be prosecuted.

[The full report can be accessed at: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/nigeria/]