Amnesty International has called for an independent probe into possible war crimes committed by Boko Haram militants and the Nigerian military in the violence raging in the country’s north.
“We urge the international community to ensure prompt, independent investigations into acts that may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity,” AFP quoted Netsanet Belay, Africa research and advocacy director at the London-based group, as saying on Monday.
The rights group made the call, saying that more than 1,500 people had been killed during increased violence in northeast Nigeria in the first three months of 2014.
The human rights monitor said more than half of the victims were civilians.
It also expressed particular concern over claims that hundreds of Boko Haram suspects were summarily executed after a jailbreak in the capital of Borno state, Maiduguri, on March 14.
There was “credible evidence” that more than 600 people, most of them unarmed recaptured detainees, were summarily killed across Maiduguri as the military regained control, Amnesty said.
Witnesses said the military shot and killed 56 escaped prisoners on land behind the city’s university.
“The international community cannot continue to look the other way in the face of extrajudicial executions, attacks on civilians and other crimes under international law being committed on a mass scale,” Belay added.
“Civilians are paying a heavy price as the cycle of violations and reprisals gather momentum,” he noted.
The Boko Haram group has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly shooting attacks and bombings in various parts of Nigeria since 2009. The group says its aim is to topple the Nigerian government, which it accuses of being pro-Western.
Last summer, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan imposed a state of emergency in the three northern and northeastern states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa, as a result of violence in the country.
MN/MAM/AS
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