Analysis: Nigeria's spiral of violence

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Since the return of civilian rule in 1999, Nigeria has been beset by a series of localised conflicts, most recently in Plateau state.

Some of them have pitched Muslims against Christians, but all of them have fallen across different tribal and cultural divides.

The cycle of violence seems unstoppable in Nigeria, a large and very complex country.

From the deserts of the north to the tropical forest regions of the south and east, it is home to around 120 million people, divided up into some 250 different ethnic groups.

Nigeria's spiral of violence....