Lagos , Nigeria ( CNN ) -- Attackers killed at least 11 people Wednesday in a region of Nigeria that has been convulsed by violence between Muslims and Christians , an official said . Muslim herdsmen , some dressed in military uniforms , attacked a predominantly Christian village at about 1 a.m. Wednesday near the city of Jos , close to where a machete-wielding Muslim group killed hundreds in a mostly Christian town this month , said Choji Gyang , special adviser on religious affairs to the governor of the Nigerian state of Plateau . Opinion : We will fight for the soul of Nigeria . The dead included women and children , he said . The attackers , from the Fulani ethnic group , also injured at least four people and stole 120 cattle from the village of Kyi , he said . Two people are missing . The violence has put much of oil-rich Nigeria , Africa 's most populous nation , on edge , with rumors swirling of more attacks . Authorities in Lagos took the unusual step of sending a text message to residents to try to put them at ease . `` Please be informed that the story of Fulanis trooping into Lagos for the past three days to cause chaos is baseless , '' the message said . `` All security agencies have investigated this rumor individually and collectively and found that there 's no iota of truth in it . Be advised to go about your lawful business without fear . `` All agencies remain committed to keep our state and country safe . We are fully alert . Thank-you and pass this message onto others . '' The attacks Wednesday followed the massacre earlier this month of roughly 200 people near Jos , a city in central Nigeria that lies on a faith-based fault-line between Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria and the mainly Christian south . A few weeks ago , Muslim attackers with guns , machetes , and knives killed people in several Christian villages near Jos in apparent retaliation for previous attacks against Islamic communities and the theft of cattle from herdsmen , Human Rights Watch said . What 's behind slaughter in Nigeria ? Thousands of people in Plateau state have been killed in similar outbreaks of violence in the last decade , said Corinne Dufka , a senior West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch . Though the violence often pits Christians and Muslims against each other , it has more to do with disputes over access to natural resources than religion , according to John Onaiyekan , the archbishop of Abuja , Nigeria . Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo also has said that the violence is fueled more by ethnic , social , and economic problems than religion . `` If you have one group or a community that has land that 's been encroached upon by another community or even by itinerant cattle farmers , then the people who lay claim to the land will fight back , '' he recently told CNN 's Christiane Amanpour . `` If there are job opportunities in an area , and persons believe they are indigenous to that area , and ( are ) not getting enough out of the jobs that are available , they will fight those who are getting the jobs . ''
Muslim herdsmen attacked predominantly Christian village near the city of Jos . The attack was condemned by President Goodluck Jonathan and his government as a "cowardly act against innocent civilians". Thousands of people in Plateau state have been killed in the last decade . Many say violence fueled by ethnic , social , and economic problems rather than religion .