Community leaders: Nigerian troops kill dozens of civilians

Community leaders and residents accused Nigerian troops on Sunday of killing dozens of civilians and razing homes to avenge the deaths of six soldiers. Traditional ruler Chief Jessie Miri told reporters up to 80 people have been killed in multiple attacks by soldiers over the weekend in the Wase district of central Plateau state. Spokesman Capt. Ikwedichi Iweha denied the Special Task Force attacked any civilians, asking why they would attack the very people they are supposed to protect. But residents said the soldiers arrived in more than a dozen armored personnel carriers.

Soldiers stormed some villages in Wase … Villages belonging to Tarok and other tribes were razed and many lives, men, women and children, were lost.

Community leader Comrade Jangle Lohbut

Nigeria’s military has been accused of many atrocities including the deaths of thousands of detainees in the northeastern Islamic uprising by Boko Haram. In 2013, reports by The Associated Press and Amnesty International investigations found the military had killed more than 200 civilians and burned down thousands of homes in the northeast fishing community of Baga after a soldier was killed in the town.

Africa Nigeria