Lagos/Jos — POLICE in Jos have confirmed the arrest of 351 persons over the killings in Dogon-Hauwa villages on Sunday. Plateau State Deputy Police Commissioner, Ikechukwu Aduba, broke the arrests into groups, one of 200 persons, among them 49 Fulanis; all of whom were brought into custody immediately after the violence.
The second group comprises 151 men arrested at Mangu and other surrounding villages for unlawful possession of prohibited firearms and dangerous weapons. Aduba said the Fulanis confessed that they carried out the murder in retaliation for the attacks on January 17 in Tim-Tim, Jenta Kuru, Vom, and Barkin Ladi.
Some of the attackers on Sunday confirmed that they volunteered and others that they were mercenaries, he added. He stressed that the number of casualties is 109, not 500 as stated by Information and Communication Commissioner, Gregory Yenlong.
Regardless, from the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI condemned the "atrocious" mayhem, adding his voice to a chorus of international revulsion over the slaughter.
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In his weekly general audience, Benedict offered condolences to the victims of the "atrocious violence causing bloodshed in Nigeria" and urged civil and religious leaders "to work towards security and peaceful co-existence" since "violence does not resolve conflicts but only increases the tragic consequences."
The three-hour killing spree in the early hours of Sunday was the latest wave of sectarian violence to engulf Jos, where hundreds were killed in Muslim-Christian clashes in January.
Governor Jonah Jang on Tuesday heavily criticised the Army over its failure to intervene to stop the latest killings at a time when a curfew was meant to be in force.
Residents said the massacre was part of a spiralling feud between the Fulani, who are nomadic herders, and Berom, who are farmers, which had been sparked by the theft of cattle.
An illustration of the tension came overnight on Wednesday when residents piled into police barracks after an eruption of gunfire.
It later emerged the firing had been caused by soldiers trying to disperse crowds of mainly Christian youths.
"Because of the tension and anxiety in the area, we took it for a gunfight and left our homes for the police barracks," Josephine Emmanuel, a resident of the village of Bukka Uku, told AFP.
On Wednesday, Jang asked the people to seek forgiveness from God over the latest crisis.
"I hereby call on all of us as a people to undertake three days of fasting from Thursday 11 to Saturday 13 March to pray and cry out to God for the forgiveness of our sins, and to plead with Him to bring peace on the Plateau and our dear nation, Nigeria.
"There is also the temptation to start asking God, 'why?'. Our God is a God of justice. I believe God has allowed this for a purpose. We must therefore continue to have faith in our living God.
" I pray that He will bring comfort to all those that have lost their loved ones in these crises" he said.
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