Religious violence erupts again in centraligeria

JOS,igeria – Religious violence between Christians and Muslims erupted again Tuesday inigeria, as security forces issued a 24-hour curfew for the city of Jos where rioters have burned homes and killed at least 27 people.Security forces ordered everyone to remain indoors after police and soldiers' efforts to contain the violence with roadblocks and searches apparently failed. Officials there could not be immediately reached for comment, but an Associated Press reporter could see smoke rising from the north side of Jos and hear the sounds of gunshots echoing along the streets.Rioting began Sunday in the city after Muslim youths set a Catholic church ablaze. Witnesses said rioters armed with knives, homemade firearms and stones attacked passers-by and fought with security forces, leaving bodies in the street and stacked in local mosques.Calm returned to the city Monday, but police refused to offer any casualty count. Sani Mudi, a spokesman for the local imam, has said 22 people died Sunday and more than 300 people were wounded in the fighting. Five others died Monday from their wounds, Mudi said.A local Red Cross officials has said 5,000 people have been displaced by the rioting.Jos, the capital of Plateau State, has a history of community violence that has made elections difficult to organize. Rioting in September 2001 killed more than 1,000 people and Muslim-Christian battles killed up to 700 people in 2004.The city is situated inigeria's "middle belt," where dozens of ethnic groups mingle in a band of fertile and hotly contested land separating the Muslim north from the predominantly Christian south.More than 300 residents died during a similar uprising in 2008.