The Nigeria–Biafra War (1967-1970) was characterized by mass violence and phenomenal atrocities that resulted in the death of about 3 million people. Remarkably, the historiography of the war’s atrocities is often seen through the lens of Biafra. This is primarily due to the effective propaganda effort of the Biafran government, which successfully drew the attention of the global community to the Biafran humanitarian crisis. Asaba, a small border town on the west of the Niger, arguably suffered the worst civilian atrocity of the war. S. Elizabeth Bird and Fraser M. Ottanelli present this account of historical injustice by exploring the occupation of Asaba by Nigerian troops, the atrocities they committed, the consequences of the occupation, and the lingering trauma in contemporary Asaba society. On 4 October 1967, the federal troops occupied Asaba after recapturing it from Biafran forces, and a few days later, they turned the town into a killing field. The soldiers moved from house to house and rounded up people, who were accused of sympathizing with the Biafrans. In an obvious gendered killing, the occupying troops selected male teenagers and able-bodied men, lined them up and executed them. The killings were systematic and retaliatory. As the authors reveal, the Nigerian soldiers, sometimes, had a list of prominent Asaba people, who they wanted dead, especially top civil servants, titled men, and important political leaders in the Midwest government. In addition, young girls and women were raped, and those who refused the soldiers’ sexual assaults were killed. Like the Rwanda genocide, as the terrifying soldiers killed and raped in Asaba, they also looted the property of their victims.

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书评：阿萨巴屠杀：创伤，记忆与尼日利亚内战

尼日利亚-比阿夫拉战争（1967-1970）的特点是大规模暴力和惊人的暴行，造成约300万人死亡。值得注意的是，战争暴行的史学常可从比夫拉的镜头中看到。这主要是由于比亚夫兰政府的有效宣传努力，成功地引起了国际社会对比亚夫兰人道主义危机的关注。尼日尔以西的边境小城阿萨巴（Asaba）遭受了战争中最残酷的平民暴行。S. Elizabeth Bird和Fraser M. Ottanelli通过探讨尼日利亚军队对Asaba的占领，他们犯下的暴行，占领的后果以及当代Asaba社会中挥之不去的创伤，阐述了历史上的不公正现象。1967年10月4日，联邦军在从比亚夫兰部队手中夺回阿萨巴之后，占领了阿萨巴。几天后，他们将阿萨巴变成了一个杀戮场。士兵们挨家挨户搬走，围捕被指控同情比亚夫兰人的人。在明显的性别杀害中，占领军挑选了男性少年和强壮的男人，将他们排成一队并处死了他们。屠杀是系统的和报复性的。正如作者所揭示的那样，尼日利亚士兵有时有时会列出一名单子，他们想要死去的阿萨巴人，特别是高级公务员，有头衔的人和中西部政府的重要政治领导人。此外，年轻女孩和妇女遭到强奸，那些拒绝士兵性侵犯的人被杀害。就像卢旺达种族灭绝一样，可怕的士兵在阿萨巴被杀害并被强奸，