by Damilola Jagun
Following the recent reports that Boko Haram killed thousands of people in Baga, Borno state, Amnesty International has issued a release saying that it may be the deadliest attack by the insurgents since their inception.
The militants reportedly attacked Baga and surrounding towns on Saturday 3 January, killing about 2,000 people and razing houses.
While calling on Boko Haram to end the killings and the Nigerian government to take necessary action, Daniel Eyre, Nigeria researcher for Amnesty International, says the recent attack “marks a disturbing and bloody escalation” of Boko Haram’s terrorism.
Eyre said: The attack on Baga and surrounding towns, looks as if it could be Boko Haram’s deadliest act in a catalogue of increasingly heinous attacks carried out by the group. If reports that the town was largely razed to the ground and that hundreds or even as many as two thousand civilians were killed are true, this marks a disturbing and bloody escalation of Boko Haram’s ongoing onslaught against the civilian population.”
“We are currently working to find out more details of what happened during the attack on Baga and the surrounding area. This attack reiterates the urgent need for Boko Haram to stop the senseless killing of civilians and for the Nigerian government to take measures to protect a population who live in constant fear of such attacks.”
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