Lagos , Nigeria ( CNN ) -- The death toll from weekend violence in central Nigeria climbed to more than 200 Monday after members of a machete-wielding Muslim group attacked a mostly Christian town south of the city of Jos , officials said . More than 200 were dead and 32 injured , according to Choji Gyang , a religious affairs adviser to the head of Plateau state , who said bodies were still being recovered . Sani Shehu , president of the nongovernmental agency Civil Rights Congress , put the number of dead at about 485 people . Twenty-six arrests had been made in connection with the violence , Gyang said . Nigerian Vice President Goodluck Jonathan put security on high alert Sunday and began operations to capture the `` roving bands of killers '' who attacked Dogo Nahauwa , a town just south of Jos . Are you there ? Send your video , images to iReport . The townsfolk are predominantly Berom , an ethnic group that mostly practices Christianity , said Manase Pampe , spokesman for the Red Cross Plateau state office . Reports of the attack described the assailants as members of the Muslim Hausa-Fulani ethnic group , Pampe and government spokesman Gregory Yenlong said . The attackers stormed the town at 3 a.m. Sunday ( 9 p.m. Saturday ET ) and remained there for 2½ hours , Pampe said . Buildings were set afire , and people were attacked with machetes , Yenlong said . The violence resembled previous outbreaks of ethno-religious clashes in the West African nation . But John Onaiyekan , archbishop of Abuja , told Vatican Radio the most recent outbreak is the result of a dispute over access to natural resources , not religion . `` The point that needs to be made is that people are not killing one another because of religion , '' Onaiyekan said . Instead , he called it a `` classical '' economic conflict between farmers and less sedentary groups . The Plateau attack prompted Jonathan to place the area and neighboring states on `` red alert , '' the vice president 's office said in a news release . He directed security forces to `` undertake strategic initiatives to confront and defeat these roving bands of killers , '' the office said . Jonathan , who became acting head of state in February while President Umaru Yar'Adua recovers from illness , called for calm . `` He calls on all Nigerians to remain peaceful and law abiding since violence only begets further violence , '' the release said . `` He also sympathizes with those who have lost relatives and friends in these attacks , asking the Almighty to grant them the fortitude to bear the loss . '' Onaiyekan said the government had imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew but noted it 's difficult for authorities to impose curfews outside the cities . The recent casualties do n't `` say much about the ability of government to defend its citizens , '' he said . Hundreds fled the town as the violence raged Sunday . The Red Cross was caring for about 600 people at its camp in Boto in Bauchi state , said Alhaji Abubakar , the group 's spokesman in the state . Bauchi is just north of Plateau state . Forty-eight people were treated at hospitals , national Red Cross spokesman Umar Maigari said . Red Cross officials counted 30 bodies in one community but were unable to continue their investigation , he said . Residents wanted to direct the attention to burying the dead , he said . Nigeria -- with more than 150 million people -- is the most populous country in Africa and almost evenly divided between Muslims and Christians . It has the sixth-largest Islamic population in the world -- 78 million-plus Muslims , according to a study last year by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life . While some outbursts of violence are between Christians and Muslims , some disputes are also ethnic-based . The country is home to 250 to 400 ethnic groups , making it one of the most diverse African nations , according to the International Displacement Monitoring Center . Thousands were displaced in January when violence flared up in Jos , said Shehu of the Civil Rights Congress . A local activist said 69 people were killed and about 600 injured . Also in January , at least 150 Muslims were killed during an attack in Kuru Karama south of Jos , Human Rights Watch reported . Community leaders from Jos and journalists told Human Rights Watch they saw dozens of bodies lodged in wells or sewage pits . Most of the town 's homes were burned , the group said . In November 2008 , at least 700 Nigerians died in Christian-Muslim riots that followed a disputed local election , Human Rights Watch reported . CNN 's Christian Purefoy contributed to this report .
Officials say death toll more than 200 ; others put figure as high as 485 . Predominantly Christian town attacked with machetes , buildings set on fire . Reports describe attackers as members of Islamic Hausa-Fulani ethnic group . Score: 6