Satellite Images Reveal Scale of Destruction in Boko Haram Massacre in Nigeria

Drew Hinshaw in Accra, Ghana and Gbenga Akingbule reporting from Abuja, Nigeria: Boko Haram killed hundreds of people and burned down almost an entire town this month, Amnesty International said Thursday, citing satellite photos to offer the clearest indication to date of the damage the Nigerian insurgency wrought.

Not from a satellite photo

More than 3,700 buildings, including homes, schools, and clinics, were torched by Boko Haram in and around the remote town of Baga during an assault that began on Jan. 3, the human rights group said. Satellite photos showed the entire town of Doron-Baga, which is next to Baga, had been effectively burned down.

Amnesty said the pictures corroborate the stories of refugees who have spoken of many hundreds killed in the remote area, which is dangerous and inaccessible for journalists and aid workers. Residents who fled have described walking through a countryside littered with bodies.

For a week, the question of how many people died there has been the subject of a back-and-forth between Nigeria’s press and its government. Emotional and hungry residents who have lost their family members and walked for days have told reporters that as many as 2,000 people were killed…. (read more)

WSJ

Write to Drew Hinshaw at drew.hinshaw@wsj.com

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