ABUJA, Nigeria, March 8 (UPI) -- A nighttime "ethnic cleansing" raid on a village near Nigeria's turbulent city of Jos resulted in hundreds of deaths, officials said.
Unconfirmed reports indicated between 200 and 500 people were killed in the attack at Dongon Nahowa, 234next.com reported Monday.
Authorities said they believed the invaders were Fulani herdsmen.
In recent months, the area has had several violent ethno-religious attacks
Reports from the village said the 2-hour attack Sunday caught the villagers unaware. Several villagers who escaped said the invaders used guns, swords and knives to cut down their victims. Some victims were burned, reports said.
Jos is the capital of Nigeria's Plateau State.
Gregory Yenlong, Plateau information commissioner, said the government was shocked by the violence, the news agency in Lagos, Nigeria, reported.
Describing the attack as an "ethnic cleansing" of the Berom people, Yenlong called for the arrest of Saleh Bayare, a Fulani from Bassa area of Plateau State.
State police, who confirmed the attack but not the number of deaths, said they were investigating.
Less than two months ago, 326 people died in two days of religious and ethnic fighting in the region.
