Satellite Images Show Horrifying Scale Of Destruction In Nigerian Towns Attacked By Boko Haram

 |  By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA              

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/14/boko-haram-nigeria-satellite-images_n_6471734.html                         

                                  

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Satellite images show widespread destruction in two Nigerian towns that were recently attacked by Islamic extremists, an international human rights group said Wednesday.

Amnesty International said the detailed images of Baga and Doron Baga, taken before and after the attack earlier this month, show that more than 3,700 structures were damaged or completely destroyed.

The images were taken Jan. 2 and Jan. 7, Amnesty International said. Boko Haram fighters seized a military base in Baga on Jan. 3 and, according to witnesses, killed hundreds civilians in the ensuing days.

Daniel Eyre, Nigeria researcher for the human rights group, said in a statement that the assault on the two towns was the largest and most destructive of all the Boko Haram assaults analyzed by Amnesty International.

The group said interviews with witnesses as well as local government officials and human rights activists suggest hundreds of civilians were shot; last week, the human rights group noted reports of as many as 2,000 dead. The Nigerian military has cited a figure of 150 dead, including slain militants.

Nigeria's home-grown Boko Haram group drew international condemnation when its fighters kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a boarding school in northeast Chibok town last year. Dozens escaped but 219 remain missing.

• Digital Globe / Amnesty International
  Satellite image of the village of Doro Baga in north-eastern Nigeria taken on 2 Jan 2015 shows an example of the densely packed structures and tree cover in Doro Baga before the village was razed by Boko Haram.
• Digital Globe / Amnesty International
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  Satellite image of dense housing in Doro Baga taken on 7 Jan 2015, following an attack by Boko Haram shows that almost all the structures were razed. The inset demonstrates the level of destruction of most of the structures in the town. The red areas indicate the remaining healthy vegetation.
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• Digital Globe / Amnesty International
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  This image shows many of the thatch roof structures are razed in Baga, Borno State, Nigera. The dark colour represents the burned areas while red indicates healthy vegetation.
• Digital Globe / Amnesty International
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  Satellite images taken on Jan. 2 and Jan.7 2015 show the shore of Lake Chad at Doro Baga (aka Doro Gowon). Imagery shows two new vehicles near the shore on Jan. 7. The boats visible in the image from Jan. 2 are no longer present on Jan. 7.
• Digital Globe / Amnesty International
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  This image shows over 620 structures damaged or destroyed predominantly located in the southern portion of Baga, Borno State, Nigeria. Vehicle activity is present along the main road, including what is probably an armored vehicle stationed at a road block close to the center of town. The yellow dots represent damaged or destroyed structures.
• Digital Globe / Amnesty International
  Baga, North Eastern Nigeria, Satellite view on Jan. 7, 2015.