Boko Haram on murderous orgy

More than 223 civilians have been killed in the last five months in the Northeastern part of Nigeria by terrorist group Boko Haram, Amnesty International has disclosed.

According to the human right group, the number could be a lot higher as some attacks could have gone unreported, adding that deaths from attack in the last five months has double that of preceding five months.

In the statement, Amnesty International said the forcing of women and girls to act as suicide bombers has driven the sharp rise in deaths in northeast Nigeria and northern Cameroon.

“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’s director for West and Central Africa.

‘’In Nigeria, the deadliest attack was in July, when the militants abducted an oil exploration team with staff of the state oil firm and a university while they were traveling in a military convoy. Boko Haram killed 40 people and kidnapped three others.

‘’Boko Haram suicide bombers have killed 81 people in Nigeria since the start of April.  In Cameroon, the Islamist insurgency has killed at least 158 people in the same period. That is also linked to a rise in suicide bombings, the deadliest of which killed 16 people in Waza in July.

It said more than 2.5 million people have been displaced or become refugees in the Lake Chad region – which includes Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad – while 7.2 million people lack secure access to food because of the conflict with Boko Haram, according to the United Nations. 

The insurgency has left more than 20,000 people dead since it began in 2009.