20110419
reuters

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) - Medics in northern Nigeria on Tuesday treated hundreds of victims of rioting against President Goodluck Jonathan's election victory, some of them children with gunshot and machete wounds.

The Red Cross said many people were killed, hundreds injured and thousands displaced in protests across northern Nigeria on Monday by supporters of Jonathan's northern rival, former army ruler Muhammadu Buhari, who say the election result was rigged.

Churches, mosques, homes and shops were razed.

Hospitals in the cities of Kano and Kaduna in the predominantly Muslim north were overflowing with wounded.

"We're full. We've got injuries ranging from battering, machete wounds and around five gunshot victims," said Ibrahim Gwarze, a doctor in the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.

"We had a young boy, 7 years old, with a gunshot wound to the stomach," he said.

Soldiers patrolled near empty streets. There were still pockets of violence, including in rural areas of Zamfara, Kaduna and Katsina states, where there was less of a military presence.

The Red Cross said eight people had been confirmed dead in Katsina and rescue workers gave similar figures for other cities, but the overall toll was feared to be much higher.