KANO - Nigerian security forces yesterday cordoned off a district of the city of Jos, where clashes between Christians and Muslims have left 10people dead.

KANO - Nigerian security forces yesterday cordoned off a district of the city of Jos, where clashes between Christians and Muslims have left 10people dead.

Police and the military were deployed and a 12-hour dusk-to-dawn curfew imposed in the Nassarawa Gwom district after Sunday's clashes over the building of a mosque in which at least six people were seriously injured by gun and machete attacks.

Security forces searched cars and people in the streets for weapons, residents said.

A police spokesperson said: "Security personnel have succeeded in quelling the unrest and restoring calm in the affected area of the city.

"We have cordoned off the Nassarawa Gwom district."

Jos has fast become the focus of sectarian tensions in central Nigeria, but state information commissioner Gregory Yenlong also said the disturbances had ended.

He said the curfew would remain in force "to ensure that no security breach happens".

The fighting erupted when Christian youths protested against the building of a mosque in the Christian-dominated Nassarawa Gwomdistrict. Houses and vehicles were set alight.

The curfew was imposed and authorities at the University of Jos told students to go home. - Sapa-AFP