The Nigerian army claims that it has regained control over the city of Jos, where simmering tensions between Muslims and Christians exploded into violence, leaving more than 200 dead since Sunday, the BBC reported today.

Jos, Nigeria, where more than 200 people have died in religious clashes.

Lieutenant Colonel Shekari Galadima of the Nigerian armed forces told the BBC that the city had been under a 24-hour military curfew and that would be no more riots. The city of Jos has a long history of religious tension; in 2008, more than 200 people died when religious riots shook the central city, and more than 1,000 people died in 2001.

The Associated Press reported that soldiers carrying machine guns are patrolling the streets of the city; the BBC reported that human rights organizations are afraid that people will run out of food while being forced to remain in their homes for 24 hours.

The violence also appears to have spread to the town of Pankshin, 80 kilometers away, where public buildings and places of worship have been set on fire, the BBC reported.

While the reason for this spate of violence remains unclear, Reuters reported that some witnesses claim it started with a disagreement over the rebuilding of housing destroyed by the 2008 riots.