Leading human rights group Amnesty International says dozens of people accused of belonging to the Islamic militant group Boko Haram have died in horrific conditions at prisons in Cameroon. In a report,  Amnesty said the suspects died of disease, malnutrition and in some cases had been tortured to death. 


It added that Cameroon has detained more than 1,000 people accused of supporting Boko Haram, but in many cases, Amnesty said, the suspects were arrested without any reasonable suspicion that they had committed a crime.

They are being held in what the organisation describes as "inhumane" conditions.  At one prison in the north, up to eight people are dying a month.  Amnesty said it had also documented extrajudicial killings by the security forces and six cases where suspects were tortured to death.

 The government in Cameroon has yet to respond to the allegations.