Billards Clash Leads To 4 Deaths And Burning Of 5 Mosques And 50 Homes

Sectarian clashes in Nigeria sparked by a dispute over a game of billiards have left four people dead and dozens of buildings on fire, police say.

The trouble broke out in Tafawa Balewa in central Nigeria, a region that has seen an upsurge in violence between Christians and Muslims
Five mosques and about 50 homes were set alight as Christian and Muslim youths fought each other.

Police eventually restored order, using roadblocks to contain the violence.

Police commissioner Abdulkadir Mohammed Indabawa said the dispute began on Wednesday night with a disagreement over money between the Christian owner of the billiards table and a Muslim player.

Although the row was settled through mediation by local elders, the table was later burned.

"The Christian youths accused Muslims of the act, which prompted them to go about burning houses and mosques," said Mr Indabawa.

"Clashes followed between Muslim and Christian groups and four people were killed as a result."

Volatile region

Paramilitary police were patrolling the city's streets on Thursday and Mr Indabawa said troops could also join the crackdown.

"We have mounted roadblocks at areas leading to the town to avoid a spillover of the crisis to other areas," he said.

Tafawa Balewa is close to the city of Jos in Nigeria's volatile Middle Belt, which sits between the mainly Muslim north and largely Christian south.

The region has been a flashpoint of tension between Hausa Muslims and Berom Christians.

It has suffered repeated outbreaks of ethnic violence over the past decade, with deadly riots in 2001, 2008 and last year.