Several Dead in Sectarian Clashes in Eastern Nigeria

At least five people have been killed in eastern Nigeria after a disagreement over a football field led to clashes between Christians and Muslims.

Officials in Wukari, a town in Taraba state, say the violence began Saturday when two football teams argued over the right to use a play area. One player was killed and the fighting quickly spread into surrounding areas, leaving homes, mosques and churches burned to the ground.

Authorities sent in security forces to restore order and imposed a 24-hour curfew on Wukari.

Wukari lies in Nigeria's middle-belt region that divides the mostly Muslim north and the predominantly Christian south. The area often suffers through interreligious clashes.

In other violence, six people were killed in an attack by suspected Islamist militants Saturday in northeastern Yobe state.