Rights abuses by security forces rife in Africa: Amnesty

AFP

12 May 2011

Rights abuses by security forces rife in Africa: Amnesty

JOHANNESBURG — Human rights violations, including extra-judicial executions and torture, by security forces still plague several African countries, Amnesty International said on Friday.

A report by the London-based rights group said excessive use of force and other ill-treatment at times resulting in unlawful killings, were among violations documented in countries such as Nigeria, Mozambique, South Africa, Uganda.

It said the situation in Nigeria's Niger Delta deteriorated in 2010, with armed groups and gangs kidnapping oil workers and their relatives and attacking oil plants.

"The reaction from the Nigerian security forces often led to human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions and torture," the report noted.

Numerous cases of unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, torture by security agencies also remained the norm in other parts of Nigeria.