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Violence Has Nigerian Troops On Alert VOA News 5 Feb 2002 08:27 UTC 
Nigerian troops remain on alert Tuesday to stem several days of ethnic violence in the commercial capital, Lagos.
Witnesses say heavily armed soldiers and police conducted joint patrols through the Mushin district to end fighting between the northern Hausa and southern Yoruba ethnic groups.
The violence has killed more than 55 people and driven hundreds of people from their homes.
For the third straight day, members of the two ethnic groups clashed with guns, machetes, and other weapons and set fire to buildings. By late Monday, the fighting had spread to other areas of northern Lagos.
It is not clear what sparked the clashes, which broke out Saturday.
The ethnic fighting is the latest blow to Nigeria, still reeling from the deaths of at least 1,000 people after last week's explosions at a Lagos munitions dump.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.
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