(Repeats Nov 30 story with no changes to text) Nov 30 (Reuters) - Clashes between Muslim and Christian gangs triggered by a disputed local government election have killed around 400 people in the central Nigerian city of Jos, the worst unrest in the country for years. The city lies at the crossroads between Nigeria's Muslim north and its mostly-Christian south, but the conflict is about much more than religious beliefs. Below are some questions and answers on what triggered the violence and what the implications are for Nigeria. Q - How did the violence start? A - Residents say demonstrators from the Hausa ethnic group began burning tyres early on Friday after a rumour spread that their ANPP party candidate had lost the local government chairmanship race to the ruling PDP party. The dispute awoke tensions which have simmered for decades in central Nigeria and violence quickly broke out between rival gangs armed with machetes and home-made guns, divided along political, ethnic and religious lines. The tensions are rooted in decades of resentment by indigenous minority groups, mostly Christian or animist, who are vying for control of fertile farmlands with migrants and settlers from the Hausa-speaking Muslim north. Q - Could the unrest spread? A - Nigeria's 140 million people are roughly equally divided between Christians and Muslims and the two communities generally live peacefully together in both the north and south. Ethnic and religious unrest in one part of the country has in the past touched off revenge killings elsewhere. The Nigerian army has sent in reinforcements from neighbouring states to impose a 24-hour curfew on the most troubled parts of Jos, capital of Plateau state, reacting more quickly than in the past in an effort to contain the unrest. Previous flashpoints around Nigeria for ethnic and religious rioting have included Yelwa, also in Plateau, the southeastern city of Enugu and the second-largest city of Kano in the north. Q - What does it mean for Nigerian stability? A - Nigeria has experienced and weathered similar bouts of unrest in the past. Thousands have died in religious and ethnic violence since the start of the decade. But the fighting comes as President Umaru Yar'Adua faces mounting criticism over the slow progress being made by his administration after 18 months in office. Violence continues to plague the oil-producing Niger Delta, intermittent power supply remains a major hindrance to growth and a drawn-out cabinet reshuffle and weeks of delays to the 2009 budget have heightened political uncertainty. Yar'Adua suffers from a chronic kidney complaint and concern about his health has led to speculation over what would happen if he were no longer able to govern. There is an unwritten agreement among the political elite that the presidency rotates between the north and south. Were he to leave office early, that delicate balance between the two religious and ethnic blocks could come under pressure. Politicians and power brokers who have in the past armed thugs to terrorise civilians and intimidate voters could again try to stoke such unrest along religious or ethnic lines. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ ) (Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Nigerians displaced by religious clashes seek refuge at a displacement centre in the central city of Jos, November 30, 2008. Residents delivered more bodies to the main mosque in the city ...
