Dozens of 'Boko Haram' executed by Nigerian military

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Created on Saturday, 03 November 2012 00:00

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Dozens of 'Boko Haram' executed by Nigerian...

Islamist insurgents targeted but Amnesty says summary justice is feeding the violence

Reuters

Nigerian troops shot dead dozens of people during raids in the north-east city of Maiduguri, bastion of the radical Islamist sect Boko Haram on Friday, according to witnesses and hospital staff.

Boko Haram's stated aim is to create an Islamic state in Nigeria. Its fighters have killed hundreds in bomb and gun attacks targeting security forces, politicians and civilians since 2009 and the sect has become the top security threat to Africa's biggest energy-producing state.

Three witnesses said soldiers from the Nigerian military's joint task force (JTF) raided several neighbourhoods in Maiduguri late on Thursday and arrested or shot dead dozens of young men.

"More than 30 bodies were brought in by the JTF and most of them were young men," said Yagana Bukar, a nurse at one Maiduguri hospital. The military spokesman in Maiduguri did not respond to requests for comment.

"Yesterday around the Gambaru area, soldiers raided places with an insider who pointed to suspected terrorists and they just killed some of them on the spot and others were taken away," said a civil servant who saw the attacks, asking not to be named. He said he saw more than 40 dead bodies.

Amnesty International said in a report released on Thursday that the JTF had committed human rights abuses in its fight against Boko Haram that were fuelling the insurgency.

The report said the JTF had carried out executions in the streets and tortured people without charges ever being brought.

Source: The Guardian UK, 02 November 2012