Nigerian police say 49 people are to be charged with murder after communal violence left scores of villagers dead.

Most of those facing charges are Muslims from the Fulani group, police spokesman Mohammed Lerama said.

The number of those arrested since the killings near the city of Jos has risen to 200, he said.

Police say 109 people - thought to be mostly Christians - died in Sunday's bloodshed. Earlier reports put the toll at more than 500.

The violence followed sectarian killings near Jos in January that left more than 300 dead, most of them believed to be Muslims.

Plateau State, in central Nigeria, sits between the mainly Christian south and the predominantly Muslim north.

Although the violence takes place largely between Muslims and Christians, analysts say the underlying causes are economic and political.

Officials say police and troops are patrolling the area to prevent further trouble.

However, international pressure is growing on the Nigerian government to take further action.

On Wednesday Pope Benedict XVI denounced the bloodshed as "atrocious".

He urged civil and religious leaders "to work towards security and peaceful co-existence".

The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions called on the Nigerian government to "move swiftly" to prevent further attacks.

Earlier, the governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang, said security lapses had worsened the carnage in the three villages targeted.

He said he had warned the army about reports of suspicious people with weapons hours before they attacked, but they failed to take action.

Acting President Goodluck Jonathan has sacked the country's national security adviser, Sarki Mukhtar, in an apparent response to the killings.