Allegations of election-rigging in the central city of Jos sparked violent clashes between Christians and Muslims that left hundreds dead and displaced thousands. Marauders from both sides rampaged through the streets, burning churches, mosques, shops and homes and using guns and machetes to slaughter their enemies. Though the casualties represented Nigeria's worst death toll in several years, the "middle" belt" of Africa's most populous nation-the intersection of its mostly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south-has been racked by sectarian violence before. Religious and ethnic riots in Jos killed about 1,000 people in 2001, and hundreds more died in a nearby city in 2004.
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