The rights group, Amnesty International on Tuesday said that at least 381 civilians in Nigeria and Cameroon have been killed by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram since April this year.
In a statement Amnesty said the number of deaths recorded at the beginning of April was more the preceding five months.
“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,” Alioune Tine, Amnesty’s director for West and Central Africa said.
The report detailed the extent of destruction caused by the activities of Boko Haram in Nigeria with the deadliest attack recorded in July.
In July the militants abducted an oil exploration team with staff of the state oil firm and a university while they were travelling in a military convoy. Boko Haram killed 40 people and kidnapped three others.
The report said 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.
Millions have been displaced and forced to become refugees in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad leading to a humanitarian crisis as the UN calls for urgent help to support those in need.
Boko Harama started its insurgency in 2009 with the Nigeria government claiming it has contained the militant group. But recent activities and reports show that, defeating the group is far from over just yet.
Source: Africafeeds.com