Nigeria faces new sectarian killings

14 members of one family were killed in Plateau state, Nigeria, in what appears to be a religiously-motivated attack.

Locals say they were a Christian family, shot or hacked to death, by Muslim herdsmen. To these villagers, this is part of a cycle of revenge killings that have left dozens of people dead in the last two weeks.

While killings motivated by religion, or battle for land, have dogged the area for many years, there now appears to be a new, more determined pattern; pitting communities who have lived together for decades against each other.

The murders are another headache for President Goodluck Jonathan, who is also dealing with more bombings, after last month's attack on the UN compound in Abuja.

Al Jazeera's Emike Umolu, reports.

WARNING: This report contains some disturbing images.