Boko Haram terrorists attack has claimed nearly 400 lives
since April in Nigeria and Cameroon, double the figure of the previous five
months, Amnesty International said Tuesday.
The increasing use of suicide bombers often young women
and girls forced to carry and detonate explosives in crowded areas — has killed
at least 381 civilians in the two countries, the rights group said in a
statement.
"Boko Haram 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," said
Alioune Tine, Amnesty International’s director for West and Central Africa.
"This wave of shocking Boko Haram violence, propelled by a
sharp rise in suicide bombings, highlights the urgent need for protection and
assistance for millions of civilians… Governments in Nigeria, Cameroon and
beyond must take swift action to protect them from this campaign of terror."
Amnesty said at least 223 civilians died in Nigeria since
April, underscoring that the real toll could be far higher.
"Between May and August, seven times more civilians were
killed than in the preceding four months, while 100 civilians were killed in
August alone," it said.
Boko Haram is waging an insurgency in a bid to establish a
hardline Islamist state in Nigeria’s mainly Muslim north.
At least 20,000 people have been killed in violence since
2009 and more than 2.6 million people have been left homeless.
More than five million people are starving as the fighting
has devastated farmland, leaving farmers unable to sow or cultivate crops for
several years.
In neighbouring Cameroon, Amnesty said since April at least
158 civilians died in Boko Haram strikes, a figure four times higher than the
preceding five months.
"The recent spike in casualties has been driven by increased
suicide attacks, with 30 –- more than one per week –- carried out since the
beginning of April," it said.
The deadliest attack took place in the town of Waza on July
12 when 16 civilians were killed and at least 34 injured after a young girl was
forced to carry and detonate a bomb in a crowded video game centre.
AFP
0 Comments