A global human rights organisation, Amnesty
International (AI), has said a major resurgence in Boko Haram attacks and suicide
bombings in Cameroon and Nigeria has left over 381 civilians dead in the five
months-since the start of April 2017, with casualties more than double the
previous five months.
The group also said across the Lake Chad region, millions of
civilians are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance as a result of Boko
Haram violence.
According to data collected by the organisation, a sharp rise
in civilian deaths in the northern region of Cameroon and the Nigerian states
of Borno and Adamawa has been driven by the armed group’s increased use of
suicide bombers-often using women and girls who are forced to carry explosives
into crowded places.
According to Amnesty International’s Director for
West and Central Africa, Alioune Tine, in a statement yesterday, “The
terrorists group is once again committing war crimes on a huge scale,
exemplified by the depravity of forcing young girls to carry explosives with
the sole intention of killing as many people as they possibly can.
“This wave of
shocking violence by the group propelled by a sharp rise in suicide bombings, has
highlighted the urgent need for protection and assistance for millions of
civilians in the Lake Chad region. Governments in Nigeria, Cameroon and beyond
must take swift action to protect them from this campaign of terror.”
In the North eastern Nigeria, AI added that mass
killings and abductions by the Boko Haram sect had led to the killings of at
least 223 civilians since April 2017, saying the real figure may still be
higher as some attacks may have gone unreported.
The group further stated that between May and August
this year, “more civilians have seven times been killed than in the preceding
four months, while 100 civilians were killed in August alone.”
It said the deadliest attack came on July 25, when the armed
group shot dead 40 people and abducted three when the sect ambushed an oil
exploration team in the Magumeri area of Borno State.
AI added: “
Boko Haram suicide bombers have killed at least 81
people in Nigeria since April, while 67 people have been abducted-mostly women
and girls-since the start of the year.
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