DAKAR, Senegal – A new Amnesty International report says more than 100 people have been tortured by Cameroon’s security forces in the past four years on suspicion of involvement with the Nigeria-based extremist group Boko Haram.
The rights group says such treatment is routine and practiced with impunity, often with little or no evidence to back up arrests. Cameroon’s government has not responded to the report.
READ MORE: 19 killed, 23 wounded by Boko Haram suicide bombers in Nigeria
Boko Haram’s eight-year insurgency has spilled across the border into northern Cameroon, where deadly suicide bombings are now common. The insurgency has killed more than 20,000 people in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.
Amnesty International says the extremist group has killed more than 1,500 civilians in Cameroon’s Far North region since 2014.
READ MORE: Nigerian schoolgirls freed from Boko Haram meeting families after 3 years
Cameroon, Chad and Niger all contribute to a multinational force aimed at combating Boko Haram.