More than 55 people have been killed in a new eruption of communal violence in central Nigeria, officials said on Sunday.

Security has become a key campaign issue ahead of the election next February, in which President Muhammadu Buhari will seek a second term.

The presidency condemned the latest violence in a statement issued on Saturday.

“The frequent resort to bloodshed by Nigerians over misunderstandings that can be resolved peacefully, is worrisome,” said the statement, issued by Mr. Buhari’s spokesman, Garba Shehu.

A local police commissioner said that 22 people were arrested in the clashes last week between two communities in the Kasuwan Magani area of Kaduna state, in north-central Nigeria.