JOIN USThe bodies were recovered from wells by Muslim volunteers who searched among destroyed buildings in the surrounding villages. So far 150 bodies have been recovered from wells and many are missing, a village elder said.
The government has beefed up security to protect the survivors of the four-day religious violence that left not less than 400 dead. 18,000 residents were displaced, according to the Red Cross.
Religious leaders gathered in Abuja, the country’s capital, Friday to find a way of preventing a re-occurrence.
The Sultan of Sokoto and president, Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III and the president, Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN) Archbishop John Onaiyekan, met with other religious leaders and made a joint appeal to the members of the two religions, Christianity and Islam to sheath their sword and live in peace.
"Human life is sacred and belongs to God alone to give and to take away. It must therefore be respected, protected and preserved by all men and women who claim to believe in God under any name.
Settling any kind of grievances through violence and bloodshed is ungodly. Rather than solve problems of misunderstanding in any society, violence and bloodshed only compounds them," they said in a joint statement.
Meanwhile, burial of the dead continues while the once busy metropolis is now a scene of burnt houses, vandalised and charred vehicles, and fleeing residents.
Soldiers fully armed and at red alert could be seen in all parts of the city, some stationed at designated places while others move around in patrol vehicles.
Similar violence in 2001 and 2004 had left hundreds dead but observes say government did nothing with the report of a panel it set up to investigate previous occurrences.
"It is more of the inability of the Nigerian state to manage crises and conflicts than what some see as hatred among the religions or ethnic groups," says Simon Kolawole, the editor of Thisday, a leading Nigerian daily.
He says the government should have invested more into conflict management and resolution research and implementation considering the diverse nature of the West African country's population.
On what caused the conflict, a united States based group, Human Rights Watch said some armed men suspected to be Christians attacked the largely Muslim population of Kuru Karama around 10 a.m. on January 19, 2010.
They surrounded the town and attacked Muslim residents killing many. They quoted witnesses as saying that they killed fleeing residents also. The conflict is stoked by the presence of a nomadic Hausa/Fulani group who live alongside the indigenous Beron group.
The Hausa/Fulani’s are mostly Muslims while the Beron are mainly Christians. The duo are also struggling to take over political control of the city.