B/Haram: 381 civilians killed in Nigeria, Cameroon since April

At least 381 civilians have been killed in Boko Haram attacks and suicide bombings in Nigeria and Cameroon since April 2017, Amnesty International (AI) said yesterday.

In Nigeria, the rights group put civilian death toll at 223, but said the real figure may be higher as some attacks may have gone unreported.

Amnesty International, in a statement, said its report was based on media reports of Boko Haram attacks and casualties it compiled and analysed.

“Between May and August, seven times’ more civilians were killed than in the preceding four months, while 100 civilians were killed in August alone,” the report said.

The deadliest recent attack, it said, was on 25 July, when the insurgents shot dead 40 people and abducted three others in an ambush on an oil exploration team in the Magumeri State.

Boko Haram suicide bombers have killed at least 81 people in Nigeria since April, while 67 people have been abducted - mostly women and girls - since the start of the year.

In far northern region of Cameroon, AI’s report revealed that Boko Haram has killed at least 158 civilians since April - four times more than in the preceding five months.

On the humanitarian area of Borno front, the report said, “More than seven million people across the region face serious food shortages, including five million in Nigeria and 1.5 million in Cameroon. There are 515,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition, more than 85% of them in Nigeria.

“The recent increase in insecurity has made humanitarian operations difficult, or even impossible, in some inaccessible areas of northeast Nigeria,” it added.