Gangs clashes on Nigeria border

Rival youth gangs have clashed at Seme, the main border crossing between Benin and Nigeria, killing at least four people and setting fire to cars.

The violence broke out on Monday after Benin police tried to arrest a suspected Nigerian thief.

Lagos State police commissioner told the BBC that security forces from both countries had now calmed the situation.

The border post near Lagos in Nigeria normally seethes with travellers and is a hub for black market smugglers.

The Seme border crossing lies directly between Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital, and Cotonou, a major port and the commercial centre of Benin.

The BBC's Bala Ibrahim in Lagos says there have been small skirmishes before between smuggling touts, but nothing this violent.

Bag of rice

The AFP news agency reports that one man was "necklaced" - burnt to death with a petrol-filled tyre.

Nigerian police commissioner Emmanuel Adebayo said two people from Benin and two people from Nigeria had died in the violence.

Youth gangs attacked each other after Benin police arrived at a meeting of Nigerian taxi drivers in search of a man suspected of stealing a bag of rice, he said.

About 14 Beninois have been arrested and handed over to the gendarmes in Benin, the police commissioner said.