Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua said on Tuesday that the situation in the north of the country was under control, according to agencies' reports.

The reports quoted the president as saying that the situation in Bauchi and Yobe has been contained, but the situation in Borno was bad and the Nigerian authorities planned to launch an operation.

The sectarian unrest that erupted in northern Nigeria's Bauchi State on Sunday has spread to neighboring Adamawa, Kano, Borno and Yobe States where over 300 people were reportedly killed on Monday.

About 600 have died since last Friday, according to the reports of the Lagos based Daily Independent newspaper on Tuesday.

In Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, mayhem was unleashed as an Islamic sect and security operatives clashed, leading to the killing of about 102 people, including two pastors.

The Islamic sect led by Mohammed Yusuf, had earlier stormed Maiduguri city in their thousands, destroying churches and attacking innocent people. In the process, two pastors were said to have been killed, while churches on Wulari Street except one were torched.

Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua has ordered national security agencies to take necessary actions to contain attacks on police posts and public buildings in some states of the country.

Olusegun Adeniyi, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, said in a statement issued in Abuja that the president gave the order after he was briefed by heads of the security agencies on the violent attacks in parts of Bauchi, Borno, Kano and Yobe states.

Adeniyi said the president directed that no effort should be spared in identifying, arresting and prosecuting leaders and members of the sects involved in the attacks.

(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2009)