Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (right) meets with Ebele Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria (Photo courtesy of UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe).

Thousands of families in northern Nigeria were forced to flee their homes Tuesday as riots prompted by the election of incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan turned violent.

The Nigerian Red Cross reported deaths as a result of the violence, but could not provide an exact figure, according to CNN. The agency reported that 360 people have been injured in the riots, which has displaced more than 15,000 people.

Jonathan - who was declared the winner of the recent Nigerian elections Monday - pleaded for an end to the violence in a televised address.

"My brothers and sisters, we are all winners," Jonathan said. "In this context there is no victor and no vanquished. We have demonstrated, even in our diversity, the progress of Nigeria remains paramount for all."

The most populous African nation, Nigeria's Muslim north and Christian south have lived together in relative peace for generations. Roughly 50 percent of the country is Muslim and just over 48 percent are Christian.

However, results from the most recent election between Jonathan and Muslim candidate Muhammadu Buhari showed a 10 million vote victory for the incumbent. The lopsided vote has led rioters to believe that the elections were rigged.

For more on the ongoing violence, click here.

--

--

To reach Benjamin Gottlieb, click here.

Follow him on Twitter @benjamin_max.