An uneasy calm has settled over Nigeria, where more than 120 people have been killed in Muslim-Christian violence since Saturday.

Christian youths burned the corpses of Muslims Thursday in Onitsha, the site of riots on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Christian mobs in the city killed at least 80 people, mostly Muslims, in reprisal for rioting against Christians in Nigeria's largely Muslim north.

More than 40 people, mainly Christians, died in riots on Saturday and Sunday.

Nigerian police have stepped up security across the country before Friday Muslim prayers, hoping to prevent further violence.

The sectarian riots began last Saturday in the northern city of Maiduguri during Muslim protests against Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.