2 killed, 1500 displaced in Nigeria clash

ABUJA - Two people were killed and some 1500 people displaced in a communal clash between Fulani and Gwari tribes in the Nigerian capital Abuja, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Sunday.

The escalation of the crisis started Saturday as a result of encroachment of herd of cattle into farmlands in the area.

The violence erupted between the two tribes on Saturday in Gwako under Gwagwalada Local Government Area of the Federal Capital Territory and affected 27 communities, the agency said in a statement, citing its director general, Muhammad Sani-Sidi.

"Two lives were lost, 27 communities affected and over 1500 internally displaced people are currently squatting in a temporary camp on the permanent campus of the University of Abuja in Gwagwalada area," he added.

Security personnel had been deployed to the area to restore order Sani-Sidi said the government had waved into the matter to negotiate and work toward building lasting peace in the area.

Communal, religious and political clashes are commonplace in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country of 160 million.