More than 600 people killed during a five-day uprising by a sect in northern Nigeria have been given mass burials in the city of Maiduguri, police and defense officials said on Sunday. Gun battles raged for days last week as the security forces fought to put down the uprising by members of Boko Haram. Violence flared in several states but Maiduguri, where sect leader Mohammed Yusuf had his base, saw the heaviest fighting. Police spokesman Isa Azare said more than 600 people were killed there but other officials put the death toll higher. "Over 700 dead bodies were given mass burial in Maiduguri town alone. Most of the bodies were buried in Yusuf's compound that used to be their headquarters," a senior defense official in the capital Abuja told Reuters.
