Skip to main content

Baga Raid: Satellite Images ‘Show Nigeria Army Abuse’

By

Satellite images reveal that 2,275 homes were destroyed during a military raid to hunt down militant Islamists in the northern Nigerian town of Baga last month, a rights group has said.

Close-up satellite images of Baga. The one on the left taken on 6 April 2013 and the one on the right on 26 April 2013, following the violence. (Source: Astrium)

Human Rights Watch said soldiers “engaged more in destruction than in protection” after Boko Haram fighters attacked a military patrol.
The army has not commented on the latest allegations.

It has said 37 people were killed; others say more than 180 died.

Community leaders dispute the army’s version of events.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on the Nigerian authorities to impartially investigate and prosecute soldiers responsible for recent violence in Baga.

It said satellite images it had analysed undermined the military’s assertion that only 30 houses were destroyed during the fighting in Baga, a remote fishing community on the shores of Lake Chad, on 16 and 17 April.

Baga residents told HRW that soldiers ransacked the town after Boko Haram killed a soldier during an attack on a military patrol.

Maina Ma’aji Lawan, a senator for the area, had said that more than 4,000 houses had been burnt and more than 200 people had died.

Community leaders told HRW that 2,000 burned homes had been counted and 183 bodies identified after the military raid ended.

Satellite images corroborated this account and had identified 2,275 destroyed buildings with another 125 severely damaged, the US-based rights group said.

“The Nigerian military has a duty to protect itself and the population from Boko Haram attacks, but the evidence indicates that it engaged more in destruction than in protection,” Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

In the week after the conflict in Baga, the troop commander in Baga, Brig Gen Austin Edokpaye, denied media reports that hundreds of houses had been burnt.

He said “explosions from Boko Haram terrorists’” set the thatched houses ablaze.

Thirty militants, one soldier and six civilians died, the army said.

Rocket-propelled grenades and bomb-making material had been recovered in the raid, a military statement said.

Technorati Tags: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DO YOU WANT TO BECOME A MASON IN NIGERIA

By
 After all i have said about this fraternity if you are still interested in becoming a mason there are just simply ways in which you can do that, but inspite of my post i am neither encouraging nor discouraging you all i am doing is just to let you know more about this frat and there's more to come about those who have joined, the so called stars like jay-z, kanye west etc i guess its just 7 simple ways to join and off you go  Are there things you want to accomplish in your life? Are there ways you want to enrich yourself? Do you enjoy being with people you like and respect? As a Freemason, you’ll find friendship and fraternity. You’ll develop life skills like self-confidence, leadership, and effective communication. You’ll learn to work as part of a team  and to better yourself as you help others. Think about taking the first step into becoming a Mason. It is widely thought that one must be invited to become a Freemason or that Freemasonry is so exclusive as to be b...
240 comments
Read more

Police Introduce Biometric Vehicle Registration

By
The Police said the introduction of a new Biometric Central Motor Registration (BCMR) is designed to fight terrorism, Kidnapping and car theft in the country. Police force spokesman CSP Frank Mba made this known at a press briefing in Abuja yesterday. He said the registration take effect from Monday next week and would involve the registration processes of vehicles, tricycles and auto-bikes from the analogue to the new system. He argued that the decision informing the introduction of the new process was against the backdrop of contemporary security challenges bordering on terrorism, high incidence of car theft, carjacking, kidnappings and other crimes. Mba said unlike the analogue procedure, the new method operate on smart-cards and portable hand-held receiver and is a specially developed technological means of attaching automobile owner's unique traits and personal data to their vehicles for proper identification and protection purposes. He said the new system is d...
Post a Comment
Read more