Religious Violence Rocks Nigeria

More than 300 people were killed in recent days as religious violence continues to haunt Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation.

Government officials reported some of the most barbaric sectarian violence seen in recent years with hundreds of villagers hacked to death and reports of children being scalped while others were burned beyond recognition. Pictured above is a child that was killed during the violence.

Mass burials will be needed for the victims, because bodies were piled on the streets.

All of this violence comes in the name of religion. The "eye for an eye" killings underscore generations of Christian-Muslim tensions in the nation.

The killing took place in three Christian villages in the volatile Jos region.

The government there is Christian-controlled, and Muslims have complained they are treated as second-class citizens there. Aid workers said the most recent violence came in response to a January attack in Muslim areas.

The unrest comes at a time of uncertain political leadership in Nigeria.

The acting president, Goodluck Jonathan, is trying to assert his authority, while the country's leader, Umaru Yar'Adua, remains too ill to govern with a heart ailment.

Any attempts to place blame for the latest violence will be a waste of time. Either side will be able to claim their actions were precipitated by earlier violence from the other side.

The only hope to end to the killing would be for both sides to enter binding peace talks to bring an immediate end to the bloodshed, but with the central government's authority in doubt, it's difficult to see the warring sides put down their weapons long enough to negotiate peace.

Honestly, black-on-black violence worldwide needs to stop. We are killing our own children and leaving our communities both devastated and shell-shocked. We need to make it stop.