More than 20 Christian villagers have been killed in a fresh outbreak of religious violence in Plateau State in central Nigeria, where President Olusegun Obasanjo declared a state of emergency on Tuesday.

Just a few hours before Obasanjo declared a state of emergency, some armed Muslims attacked five Christian villages near the town of Yelwa. It targeted the nearby Christian villages of Karese, Sabon Gida, Jirim, Gidan Sabo and Bakin Ciyawa.

Nearly all the houses in Gidan were destroyed and all the inhabitants of the village were forced to evacuate, as at least 10 homesteads were burnt-out. Some Christian farmers left their remote villages on foot, on pick-up trucks or on motorbikes. They escaped to Shendam town, 250km west of the federal capital Abuja, which has an army garrison.

The rich natural endowments of Plateau State attracts large numbers of foreigners every year, especially Europeans. The government and people of the state described it as the "Home of Peace and Tourism".

But that all changed on September 2001 when a sectarian ethno-religious crisis rocked the state. The crisis was a fallout of a bloody clash at Barkin Ladi between the natives and some Hausa-Fulani herdsmen who were said to have refused to leave the area, in defiance of a quit order issued to them by their hosts. That clash reportedly claimed over 30 lives. Other clashes were soon to follow as reports had it that the Fulani herdsmen later launched a retaliatory attack in which approximately 50 lives were lost.

More than 2,000 lives have been claimed in Plateau State since 2001. Last month, the massacre of an estimated 600 Muslims in Yelwa sparked reprisal attacks on Christians in the Muslim-dominated city of Kano in northern Nigeria.

Local Christian leaders claim that about 600 Christians were killed there and thousands more were missing. Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes in southeastern Plateau State. Most of the Muslims on the move have headed out of Plateau State into neighbouring Bauchi and Nassarawa state, which have a predominantly Muslim population.

The violence in Plateau and Kano has led to an escalation of religious tensions in other parts of Nigeria also. In the northern state of Bauchi, Christians have received threatening letters warning them to leave the state. Kaduna and Gombe are also reported to be tense. However, tension has also heightened in predominantly Igbo areas of Nigeria as news filtered through of the murder of Igbos in Kano.

Stuart Windsor, National Director of CSW, said: "The ongoing violence is causing untold human suffering to both Christians and Muslims, and we will continue to work with our partners in Nigeria to try to bring about a lasting peace."

President of God's Kingdom Society, the Church of the Living God Brother O. E. Aighalua, has described the rate of bloodletting in the country as alarming, warning that the sordid situation was a wake-up call to Nigerians to return to their creator.

"The level of insecurity in the country is so high, the upsurge in armed robberies, assasinations and ritual murders has caused panic, disorder and confusion in the country. Safety however, comes only from God Almighty who has promised to give His protection to those who serve him in sincerity and in truth, who refuse to compromise their faith, those who maintain their integrity. We should however continue to keep faith and a good conscience in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation amongst whom we shine as lights by God's grace" the President Aighalua declared in the 28th Laymembers Conference of the Church held at Salem City Warri.