中文导读：人权监察站称，博科圣地组织在今年上半年杀死了2000多人，该组织的攻击行为犯了反人道罪。记录表明他们在70个乡镇发动了95次攻击。大多数攻击发生在尼日利亚东北部，今年4月份，他们在此地大概绑架了276名女学生。今年炸弹爆炸事件频发，其中还包括自杀性爆炸。而尼日利亚保安部队也滥用职权，非法拘留，点燃房屋，杀害支持博科圣地组织的嫌疑人等。尼日利亚政府应该保护人们免受博科圣地组织的伤害，也应该保护人们免受尼日利亚保安部队滥用职权所造成的伤害。
Human Rights Watch says the Nigerian rebel groupBoko Haram has killed more than 2,000 people in thefirst six months of this year. It says the group’s attacksare crimes against humanity.
Corinne Dufka is West Africa director of Human RightsWatch. She says Boko Haram is making war againstthe people of northeastern Nigeria. She says thisaggression is causing what she calls “a staggeringhuman cost.”
“We have documented 95 attacks on 70 towns andvillages.”
She said most of the attacks happened in northeastern Nigeria. Boko Haramkidnapped an estimated 276 schoolgirls from that area in April.
Boko Haram has also carried out attacks in the capital, Abuja.
Ms. Dufka says her group used media reports and information from humanrights groups and others to confirm that Boko Haram has caused more than2,000 deaths since January.
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“We analyzed these reports looking at, again, credible reports of morgueworkers, local officials, civilians, witnesses, who had seen the bodies buriedor registered. And we came up with this figure, which is probablyconservative.”
She says the attacks have greatly increased since a state of emergency wasdeclared in three northern states. The emergency conditions took effect inBorno, Adamawa and Yobe states in May, 2013.
Human Rights Watch says there has been a sharp increase this year indeaths from bomb explosions, including suicide bombings.
Ms. Dufka says the attacks should be considered crimes against humanity. She said the crimes include murder, torture, rape and other actions done aspart of what Human Rights Watch calls a widespread or systematic attack.
“And we believe that the nature of these attacks -- the similarity, the organizednature in which they’re being committed -- suggest that they really are crimesagainst humanity.”
One of Boko Haram’s actions included kidnapping the schoolgirls from thetown of Chibok. Human Rights Watch says there have also been manyattacks on schools where male students were killed. In February, an attack on the Federal Government College in Yobe State killed 59 boys.
Ms. Dufka says Human Rights Watch and other groups also have confirmedabuses by Nigerian security forces. It says they include use of unreasonableforce, detentions without charge, the burning of homes, and killing suspectedBoko Haram supporters.
“The government of Nigeria, regardless of how egregious these attacks are --they have to abide by international law when responding tothem.”
She says the Nigerian government must not only protect the population fromBoko Haram. She says Nigeria must also protect against security forces thatmay operate outside the law.
I’m Christopher Cruise.
