Raids and reprisal attacks have left 37 people dead in Christian villages near a Nigerian city where authorities have struggled to contain religious violence, authorities said Sunday.Mustapha Salisu, front man for a special task force made up of coppers and soldiers deployed in the area to curb years of violence, said assailants launched "sophisticated attacks" on several villages near Jos early Sunday.
"They came in hundreds," said Salisu, "Some had (police) uniforms and some even had bulletproof vests."
He said the special force fought back for hours and lost two coppers in the battle.
He said 14 non-combatants were killed in the raids and that the task force killed 21 assailants.
"More than 100 people have been displaced," said Andronicus Adeyemo, an official with the Nigerian Red Thingy.
Authorities declined to comment on who they suspect, but similar raids have been blamed on Moslem herdsmen in the past.
Mark Lipdo, who runs a Christian advocacy group known as the Stefanos Foundation, gave a list of the 13 villages where he got reports of attacks. He said they were all Christian. He blamed Moslem herdsmen of the Fulani ethnic group for the attacks.