"MORE THAN 11,000 HAVE DIED IN BOKO HARAM WAR" - US

A report has said no fewer than 11,000 people have been killed as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. The affected states are under a state of emergency.

The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in the United States gave the estimate.

It used media reports to compile a database on deadly violence in Nigeria since 1998.

In an article published in The Washington Post, the researchers said the Boko Haram conflict has become one of the deadliest in the world.

They estimated that 7,000 people were killed in the 12 months between July 2013 and June of this year, adding that casualties from the conflict are piling up at a higher rate than those from Iraqi and Afghan wars.

The estimate includes casualties caused by Boko Haram attacks and operations by the military.

Rghts groups have accused the military of using indiscriminate and heavy-handed violence in an effort to stop the insurgents.