article_snippet: Boko Haram attacks have killed at least 1,000 civilians so far this year, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) statement released Thursday.
article_snippet: After five months during which other residents remained trapped on the hills, hiding in caves and weakened by hunger, Boko Haram attacked least 1,000 civilians, killing many and forcing others to escape over the border into Cameroon," the rights group said.
article_snippet: Each week that passes we learn of more brutal Boko Haram abuses against civilians," said HRW researcher Mausi Segun, adding that Nigeria "needs to make protecting civilians a priority in military operations against Boko Haram.
article_snippet: the rights group said Nigerian security forces had "failed to take all feasible precautions to protect the civilian population" when fighting Boko Haram but noted that, according to the government, military police were investigating those claims.
article_snippet: Amnesty International said in September that reports of alleged abuses by Nigerian security forces had increased since the government stepped up the government fight against Boko Haram.
article_snippet: the rights group alleged systemic use of torture by the police, based on hundreds of witness testimonies and other evidence gathered over a 10-year span.
article_snippet: A spokesman for the Nigeria Police Force disputed the claims, saying torture and abuse were not "repeat, not an official policy of the Nigeria Police" and that the Amnesty report contained "some blatant falsehoods.
article_snippet: Boko Haram tactics have intensified in recent years, from battling Nigerian government soldiers to acts disproportionately affecting civilians -- such as raids on villages, mass kidnappings, assassinations, market bombings and attacks on churches and unaffiliated mosques.