Fighting between the Nigerian military and members of an Islamic sect has left 40 people dead. The clash took place in Bauchi, capital of the northern state of the same name.

The fighting occurred after open air preaching by members of the Kala Kato Islamic sect alarmed local people who called the security services. The leader of the sect is believed to have been killed in the violence.
 

Open-air preaching was banned in Nigeria after a rebellion by another sect, Boko Haram, earlier this year. The city of Bauchi is on the border between Islamic northern Nigeria and the Christian south. The region is well known for religious and ethnic tensions, which sometimes spill over into violence. Just over a year ago in the city of Jos, almost 400 people were killed in religiously-motivated violence.