Sectarian violence kills more in Nigeria's Kaduna

By Garba Mohammed and Mike Oboh

KADUNA/ABUJA (Reuters) - Deadly violence between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria's Kaduna flared again on Wednesday, adding to the more than 90 deaths in sectarian clashes in the northern city so far this week.

Religiously mixed Kaduna, near the volatile "Middle Belt", where Nigeria's mostly Christian south and largely Muslim north meet, was the scene of a triple church bombing on Sunday that sparked days of revenge killings.

Dispelling earlier hopes that the violence had eased, locals said Christian youths attacked homes in a Muslim area of Kaduna and police shot dead some of the mob.

Resident Rabo Haladu, who spoke to Reuters by telephone, said he saw bodies lying on the ground and the National Emergency Management Agency said there were unconfirmed reports that dozens of people had been killed.

At least 92 people were killed in the tit-for-tat attacks between Muslims and Christians in Kaduna in the last three days, sparked by suicide bombings of three churches on Sunday that killed 19 people and were blamed on Islamist sect Boko Haram.

The group says it is fighting to reinstate an ancient Islamic caliphate in the north of Africa's top oil producer that would impose strict sharia or Islamic law. The insurgents have killed hundreds since launching an uprising in 2009.

The violence has heightened sectarian tensions in Africa's most populous country, which is evenly split between Christians and Muslims, who mostly live peacefully side by side.

President Goodluck Jonathan was criticized by parliament for travelling to a U.N. summit in Brazil instead of staying to deal with the unrest. The lower house voted on Tuesday to summon him for an explanation.