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The mass slaughter of hundreds of men, women and children by Nigerian troops has been exposed by human rights organisation, Amnesty International, with the group claiming that soldiers burned people alive, razed buildings and dumped bodies in mass graves.
In its report, released under the name Unearthing the truth: Unlawful killings and mass cover-up in Zaria, Amnesty documented shocking eyewitness accounts of atrocious acts conducted by the Nigerian military, with authorities attempting to conceal the massacre from the public eye.
“The true horror of what happened over those two days in Zaria is only now coming to light. Bodies were left littered in the streets and piled outside the mortuary. Some of the injured were burned alive,” said Netsanet Belay, Research and Advocacy Director for Africa at Amnesty International.
Approximately 350 people were suspected to have been killed by the military between December 12 and 14, 2015,following a confrontation between members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna state in the northwest of the country.
Excessive and unnecessary use of force
Following an initial confrontation, troops were said to have fired indiscriminately at IMN supporters who sought to protect the residence of their leader, Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky, as well as their headquarters, known as the Hussainiyya.
While troops claimed that their convoy was attacked by supporters of the IMN in a bid to assassinate the chief of army staff, members of the IMN denied this.
Amnesty International indicated that the deaths were the consequence of excessive, and arguably, unnecessary use of force on the part of the soldiers.
On December 13, two buildings within Ibrahim Al-Zakzaky’s compound, one of which was being used as a makeshift medical facility and mortuary, were attacked by soldiers.
Gunshot wounds
A 22-year-old student, only identified as Alyyu, was shot in the chest outside the compound and was taken inside for treatment.
“There were lots of injured people in several rooms. There were dead bodies in a room and also in the courtyard. Around 12:00-13:00 soldiers outside called on people to come out, but people were too scared to go out. We knew they would kill us. Soldiers threw grenades inside the compound. I saw one soldier on the wall of the courtyard shooting inside,” Alyyu was quoted as saying.
Footage, believed to have been shot on mobile phone by IMN supporters after the incident, showed bodies with gunshot wounds and charred bodies strewn around the compound.
