CASPER
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S, Nigeria (AFP) – Christian villagers in Nigeria fled their homes following threats of new attacks in the aftermath of a massacre, despite the presence Tuesday of troops designed to restore calm to the region.
As mass burials for some of the hundreds of victims of a three-hour orgy of violence took place near the city of Jos, survivors nursed wounds in hospitals.
But observers warned that the government must tackle deep-rooted poverty in order to combat the underlying causes of the ethnic tensions which have seen thousands killed in the region in recent years.
While troops patrolled the three villages where members of the mainly Muslim Fulani ethnic group embarked on their killing spree, residents of neighbouring villages said they had already received new threats.
With a six-month-old baby strapped to her back, Patricia Silas, 30, and her two neighbours turned her heels on her village of Tin-Tin, saying she would not hang around to become another statistic.
"We are afraid we might be the next target of attack" she told AFP.
"They (Fulanis) have been making phone calls warning they are going to attack. We take these threats seriously, we don't want to be caught off-guard," she added.
As mass burials for some of the hundreds of victims of a three-hour orgy of violence took place near the city of Jos, survivors nursed wounds in hospitals.
But observers warned that the government must tackle deep-rooted poverty in order to combat the underlying causes of the ethnic tensions which have seen thousands killed in the region in recent years.
While troops patrolled the three villages where members of the mainly Muslim Fulani ethnic group embarked on their killing spree, residents of neighbouring villages said they had already received new threats.
With a six-month-old baby strapped to her back, Patricia Silas, 30, and her two neighbours turned her heels on her village of Tin-Tin, saying she would not hang around to become another statistic.
"We are afraid we might be the next target of attack" she told AFP.
"They (Fulanis) have been making phone calls warning they are going to attack. We take these threats seriously, we don't want to be caught off-guard," she added.