HRW says Nigeria Shiite radicals killed in 'unjustified' attack
Abuja - Hundreds of Shiite Muslims were killed by Nigerian
soldiers and buried in mass graves in an "unjustified" attack
earlier this month, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.
Nigerian soldiers killed "at least 300" members of the radical
Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) earlier in December when
they fired "without any provocation," said the New York-based
rights watchdog in a statement.
Witnesses said that the soldiers of Africa's biggest economy
disposed of hundreds of bodies by throwing them in mass
graves, making it difficult to establish an accurate death toll,
according to HRW.
The violence erupted on December 12 when members of the
minority Shiite group erected a makeshift road block during a
religious procession, blocking the path of a Nigerian army
chief.
"It is almost impossible to see how a roadblock by angry
young men could justify the killings of hundreds of people,"
said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at HRW.
"At best it was a brutal overreaction and at worst it was a
planned attack on the minority Shiite group."
The Nigerian army, who has not released an official death toll,
denied HRW's charges.
"The allegations are not true," said Nigerian army spokesman
Sani Usman to AFP.
"It is therefore presumptuous and clearly out of context for
anyone to make such unsubstantiated allegations or
comments," said Usman.
"The incident between the Nigerian army and the Islamic
Movement of Nigeria has been reported to the appropriate
agencies who are investigating the issue."
Last week, the Nigerian government set up a judicial
commission to investigate the deaths.
Also read: WATCH: Army officers, Shiites members clash in
Zaria
The Nigerian army had accused the Iran-backed sect of "a
deliberate attempt to assassinate" army chief of staff Tukur
Buratai, releasing footage of the crowd hurling stones at his
military convoy.
Fears of new threat
The allegations come amid fears that the violent clashes
between the Shiite group and Nigeria's army will unleash a
new Islamic threat in a country still battling Boko Haram
militants.
IMN leader Ibrahim Zakzaky, the charismatic founder of the
group, was seriously wounded and remains in police custody,
while his deputy was killed in the army crack down.
The violence echoes the bloody beginnings of the Boko Haram
insurrection in 2009, when the former leader of the Sunni
militant group was executed in police custody and the sect
took up arms against the Nigerian government.
Between raids and suicide bombings, Boko Haram has
severely damaged infrastructure in Nigeria's impoverished
northeast at a time when the commodity-dependent country is
facing a cash crunch thanks to plunging oil prices.
Nigeria's military has routinely been accused of human rights
abuses in its effort to bring Boko Haram under control, with
Amnesty International claiming hundreds of people have been
wrongfully killed in the fight against the jihadists.
- AFP
soldiers and buried in mass graves in an "unjustified" attack
earlier this month, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.
Nigerian soldiers killed "at least 300" members of the radical
Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) earlier in December when
they fired "without any provocation," said the New York-based
rights watchdog in a statement.
Witnesses said that the soldiers of Africa's biggest economy
disposed of hundreds of bodies by throwing them in mass
graves, making it difficult to establish an accurate death toll,
according to HRW.
The violence erupted on December 12 when members of the
minority Shiite group erected a makeshift road block during a
religious procession, blocking the path of a Nigerian army
chief.
"It is almost impossible to see how a roadblock by angry
young men could justify the killings of hundreds of people,"
said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at HRW.
"At best it was a brutal overreaction and at worst it was a
planned attack on the minority Shiite group."
The Nigerian army, who has not released an official death toll,
denied HRW's charges.
"The allegations are not true," said Nigerian army spokesman
Sani Usman to AFP.
"It is therefore presumptuous and clearly out of context for
anyone to make such unsubstantiated allegations or
comments," said Usman.
"The incident between the Nigerian army and the Islamic
Movement of Nigeria has been reported to the appropriate
agencies who are investigating the issue."
Last week, the Nigerian government set up a judicial
commission to investigate the deaths.
Also read: WATCH: Army officers, Shiites members clash in
Zaria
The Nigerian army had accused the Iran-backed sect of "a
deliberate attempt to assassinate" army chief of staff Tukur
Buratai, releasing footage of the crowd hurling stones at his
military convoy.
Fears of new threat
The allegations come amid fears that the violent clashes
between the Shiite group and Nigeria's army will unleash a
new Islamic threat in a country still battling Boko Haram
militants.
IMN leader Ibrahim Zakzaky, the charismatic founder of the
group, was seriously wounded and remains in police custody,
while his deputy was killed in the army crack down.
The violence echoes the bloody beginnings of the Boko Haram
insurrection in 2009, when the former leader of the Sunni
militant group was executed in police custody and the sect
took up arms against the Nigerian government.
Between raids and suicide bombings, Boko Haram has
severely damaged infrastructure in Nigeria's impoverished
northeast at a time when the commodity-dependent country is
facing a cash crunch thanks to plunging oil prices.
Nigeria's military has routinely been accused of human rights
abuses in its effort to bring Boko Haram under control, with
Amnesty International claiming hundreds of people have been
wrongfully killed in the fight against the jihadists.
- AFP
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