HRW: Nigeria Soldiers Killed Shiite Children, No Provocation
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday Nigerian soldiers fired on unarmed Shiite children with no provocation before unjustified raids that killed hundreds of the minority group in the West African nation.
The charges come as the guardian of Nigeria's Muslims, the Sultan of Sokoto, warned the government against actions that could radicalize some in a country that has lost 20,000 lives to the Boko Haram militancy.
Human rights activists say Nigerian troops killed many hundreds of Shiites in raids in the northern town of Zaria over three days Dec. 12-14. The army claims it acted after Shiites tried to block the convoy of Nigeria’s army chief – a charge the Shiites deny.
A Human Rights Watch report Wednesday doubts the Nigerian military's version that raids on Shiites in northern Zaria town followed an attempted assassination of the army chief.
The New York-based group says the army's version "just doesn't stack up," the Associated Press reported.
The group's leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky, who started Nigeria’s Shiite movement 37 years ago, was wounded and is among scores detained.
The Shiite Islamic Movement in Nigeria warned on Tuesday that Nigerian Shiites wounded in military raids are dying in military and police detention because they are being denied medical care.