UN calls on Nigeria to halt deadly ethnic clashes

GENEVA - The UN human rights office called on Nigeria on Friday to halt spiraling violence between Christian and Muslim youths in which it said 70 people had been killed since early August, including a family hacked to death.

A spokesman for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said security forces had sometimes made the ethnic clashes worse by their interventions, appearing to take sides or using excessive force.

"Reports suggest up to 70 people have been killed since the beginning of August in ethnic and religious violence in the area," her spokesman Rupert Colville told a news briefing.

At least 14 people have been killed in clashes in central Nigeria's volatile Plateau state since Sunday, authorities in the city of Jos said on Monday. Victims included a family of eight hacked to death.

"A cycle has violence has emerged in which each incident almost invariably provokes deadly reprisal attacks," Colville said, noting that the region has long been plagued by ethnic and religious divisions.

"We stress that security forces must also act in full compliance with the law, in an even-handed manner, when responding to outbreaks of violence in the country -- otherwise they risk making the cycle of violence even worse," he said.

Alleged perpetrators of violence must be prosecuted and the victims or their families compensated, he said.

The root causes, including discrimination, poverty and land disputes must be tackled, Colville said. "This has gone on so long but seems to be getting worse not better."

"Actions of the security forces are key ... Sometimes arguably they just must make the situation worse by appearing to take one side or the other and sometimes reacting too strongly with excessive force," he said.

The UN rights office also voiced concern about the group Boko Haram, "whose tactics have included attacks on civilians, security forces and government institutions".

The Islamist sect claimed responsibility for the deadly bombing of the UN building in Abuja on Aug. 26 that killed 23 people in what Colville said was "yet another deadly and cowardly act by them".