Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has said his government will do all it can to find those responsible for a string of bomb attacks that have killed at least 32 people.
Seven explosions went off in two different areas of the flashpoint city of Jos in central Nigeria yesterday.
Along with the dead over 70 people were injured, many of them as they were doing their Christmas shopping.
‘The president expressed sadness at explosions which killed many innocent Nigerians, Christians and Muslims alike, in Jos, Plateau State,’ a statement from President Jonathan’s office said.
The situation was especially tense in Jos, which has been previously hit by sectarian unrest that many observers say has been stoked by politics and which has killed hundreds this year.
Police sought to calm the situation after some residents reported that a gang of youths had barricaded a road leading to an area where one blast occurred and had set about five vehicles ablaze.
Previous violence in the region has often involved inter-communal clashes and reprisals, and the explosions marked a dramatic turn in the situation.
Jos, the capital of Plateau state, is in the so-called middle-belt region between the predominantly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south and has long been a hotspot of ethnic and religious friction in Nigeria.
Local rights groups say 1,500 people have died in inter-communal violence in the Jos region this year alone.
Elections are set for April and observers have warned of an increase in violence as the polls approach.
