Amnesty International accuses Nigerian army of killing 350 Shi’ite Muslims

Amnesty International said yesterday that Nigeria’s army killed hundreds of men, women and children from a minority Shi’ite Muslim sect last December, but the military dismissed the rights group’s report as hasty, one-sided and biased.

Amnesty’s report relates to events in the northern city of Zaria where the army has said the Islamic Movement in Nigeria tried to assassinate its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, when members of the sect blocked his convoy.

The following day the army said it had raided several buildings connected to the sect. Amnesty said more than 350 people were believed to have been unlawfully killed by the military between December 12 and 14.

Its report contains satellite images that it said appeared to show the location of a mass grave.

One witness, Yusuf, said soldiers set fire to a makeshift medical facility in the sect’s compound.