Nigeria's Boko Haram could be war criminals: UN
Geneva (AFP) - Nigeria's
Boko Haram Islamists could be classed as war criminals, the United Nations
human rights office said Tuesday, as it condemned a bloody attack on a wedding
convoy.
"Members of Boko Haram
and other groups and entities, if judged to have committed widespread or
systematic attacks against a civilian population ... (could be) guilty of
crimes against humanity," said Cecile Pouilly, spokeswoman for the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights.
The Islamist insurgents have killed dozens of people over recent
days in restive northeast Nigeria, first storming a town on motorbikes and
pick-up trucks and then carrying out highway ambushes.
Boko Haram gunmen were blamed for Saturday's slaying of more than
30 people, including the groom, when a wedding convoy was halted on a road near
the border with Cameroon.
Pouilly called the wedding convoy "atrocious" and
condemned Boko Haram's campaign of "cowardly attacks" against civilians,
politicians, members of government institutions, foreigner and the security
forces.
In May, Nigerian President
Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency across the northeast and
launched an offensive aimed at crushing at the Islamists' four-year uprising.
The conflict has claimed thousands of lives since 2009 in Africa's
most populous country and top oil producer.
Besides condemning the Islamists' bloody campaign, human rights
groups have also slammed government troops for killing civilians and for other
violations in the battle zone.
"We are also following up closely with the Nigerian
authorities allegations of abuses and human rights violations which may have
been committed by security forces when conducting operations," said
Pouilly.
She noted that the Nigerian military was in the process of
finalising a report on people detained in connection with the insurgency, and
urged the government to disclose its findings.
"We also call on the Nigerian government to ensure that
security forces act in conformity with the law and avoid excessive use of force
when conducting operations," she added.
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