Pope denounces 'atrocious' Nigeria bloodshed

Pope Benedict XVI denounced the "atrocious" bloodshed in Nigeria on Wednesday after a massacre of Christian villagers, as police said 49 people would be charged over the killings.

As new gunfire added to the tensions around the flashpoint city of Jos, the pope added his voice to a chorus of international revulsion over the weekend slaughter which police now say left 109 people dead.

In his weekly general audience, Benedict offered condolences to the victims of the "atrocious violence causing bloodshed in Nigeria" and urged civil and religious leaders "to work towards security and peaceful co-existence". "Violence does not resolve conflicts but only increases the tragic consequences," he added.

The three-hour killing spree in the early hours of Sunday was the latest wave of sectarian violence to engulf the Jos region where several hundred people were killed in Muslim-Christian clashes in January. The security forces have faced heavy criticism over their failure to intervene to stop the latest killings at a time when a curfew was meant to be in force.

Although troop reinforcements have been deployed, Jonah Jang, governor of Plateau state, said security lapses had worsened the carnage. Jang told reporters he had alerted Nigeria's army commander about reports of movement around the area and had been told that troops would be heading there.