Morgues overflow after riots in Nigeria

RELIGIOUS anger was mounting in Nigeria after two days of rioting between Muslims and Christians in the northern city of Kano left morgues overflowing and thousands homeless.

Fighting first erupted in Kano on Tuesday when Muslim mobs targeted the city's Christian minority in revenge for an attack earlier this month, in which a Christian militia killed at least 200 residents of a Muslim market town.

Police launched an uncompromising crackdown, firing live rounds as they battled to quell the protests, but, by yesterday, the fighting appeared to have abated, although tensions in the city were still close to boiling point.

“I can assure you there is calm now. We have the situation under control. Whatever casualties are found now are people who were killed over the past two days,” said Kano’s police chief, Commissioner Abdul Ganiyu Dawodo.

Yesterday’s official police tally listed 30 dead, but Christian refugees fleeing outlying suburbs claimed that more than 400 had been left behind in burnt out homes.

It was impossible to independently verify the death toll, but the hospital morgue was so full yesterday that five corpses had been laid outside under blankets.

Outside, distraught relatives were arguing fiercely with staff who were barring them from going inside to look for their loved ones.

“We can’t allow anybody into the morgue because what we need now is to keep the peace in Kano. Imagine what would happen if dead bodies were released to relatives,” a doctor said on condition of anonymity. “We will wait until everything is calm until we give the bodies out or allow anybody to go in to check for his relations.”

Angry family members alleged that the true reason the bodies were being concealed was to hide evidence that many of the dead had been shot by police, not killed by sectarian mobs.