nigeria's military is accused of murdering and torturing thousands of men and boys in its battle with boko haram. ♪ hello there i'm shiulie ghosh in doha with the world news from al jazeera. dozens are reported killed in an air strike in northern iraq. and six fifa officials are added to the corruption list. and families of americans

jailed in iran urge u.s. politicians to push for their release. ♪ amnesty international is accusing the nigerian military of committing war crimes during its fight against boko haram. the military including senior commanders must be investigated for the murder torture, starvation and suffocation of thousands of people. it says more than 7,000 young men and boys have died while in detention. amnesty says the findings are based on years of research and analysis of evidence including leaked military reports, as well as reports from eyewitnesss and senior members of the security forces. this comes as the new president

travels to neighbors chad and niger. both countries have accused the country of not cooperating with the fight against boko haram. the report makes very grim reading, doesn't it? >> reporter: well it does shiulie, and in this report there's more details as to how exactly amnesty came up with this figure of more than 7,000 men and boys tortured starved and beaten to death by the nigerian military. they say they had access to over 800 official military documents that were leaked to them. they spoke to eight unnamed military personnel, and spoke to hundreds of people not just victims and witnesses, but medical staff, those who were working in military facilities.

but the bottom line of all of this is the naming of at least eight senior military officials that amnesty are demanding the president now investigate for committing or presiding over war crimes. now they include two or three major generals, two brigadier generals, and four chief of defense and chief of army staff. they are saying that the new administration must carry out an urgent investigation and these individuals must face the law. >> is the president likely to take action and launch an investigation? because this could be very politically damaging for him. >> reporter: that's right, shiulie. we did ask amnesty what the rez

pons has been. and they explained that he is aware of their report. they gave him a copy of this report some days ago, but they have yet to get any kind of official response from the president's office. we reached out to the presidency this morning, again, no response. now it's important to remember the background to some of this crisis and in the run-up to the elections that took place in march, one of the key things that buhari campaigned on was beating boko haram. and at that time he said that senior military officials must be investigated that human rights abuses must be investigated. the question obviously now people are asking is will he be effective in investigating his own. remember he is a former army

general. he is known to a lot of these officials who are named. he has inspired them and they have inspired him over the years. the question people are asking is will there be any kind of investigation to what amnesty is saying. this is not the first time that amnesty have presented this kind of evidence. it is 129 pages, but they have time and time again accused of nigerian military of killings et cetera et cetera. so everyone is waiting for a response from the new administration. >> thank you. we're getting reports that 70 people mostly civilians have been killed in anner strike in northern iraq. imran khan joins us live from baghdad. imron, do we have anymore

details about this attack? >> reporter: the attack look place in the very early morning hours. we don't know if it was coalition or iraqi air force that took part in the strike but this was alleged to be a isil control and command center. 70 people died in that attack. now it is an isil-controlled territory. those bodies were moved up to mosul, again isil controlled territory where they were taken to hospital. there were 70 that died in the attack. now this is a strong hold for isil up in that area they are using it to try to mount attacks on the main city of kirkuk. kirkuk is very important to the kurds, it often known by as the

jerusalem of the curd -- kurds. judging by the fact that it was just a single strike it may will be an intelligence-lead operation, an opportunity to take out some members of isil but what we're hearing from isil themselves was this was civilians that died in this attack. there's a lot of tit-for-tat, a lot of claim and counterclaim going on. 70 people did die they were moved to a hospital up in mosul. >> imran thank you. all forces fighting isil in iraq should fall under the command of the iraqi government. that's the view of the u.s. envoy to iraq. general john alan has been speaking here in doha.

hashem ahelbarra reports. >> reporter: isil fighters capture a village on the outskirts of aleppo. they say they are determined to expand their territory in the northern part of syria. this isil video is said to show life in the city of palmyra. the group controls huge areas stretching from mosul to anbar in iraq and villages in aleppo in northern syria. the former u.s. general in charge of coordinating global efforts to defeat isil knowing that taking on isil or daesh as it is known in the arab world isn't easy. >> daesh is not an iraqi problem. it is not a syrian problem. daesh is a regional problem that is trending towards global implications. >> reporter: the international alliance was formed after isil

fighters swept through the city of mosul last year. any coalition launched air strikes against isil in iraq and syria, but it's ultimate goal is to help iraqi security forces stop isil prevent foreign fighters from crossing into syria and iraq undermine isil's propaganda machine. in iraq isil took advantage of the growing frustration of sunni muslims with the shia-lead government to recruit more fighters. >> we have to ask ourselves people will not supported but they accepted isil because they were suffering during years and years from a very sectarian government of al-maliki. >> for the time being fighting

is exka lating in iraq and syria. two countries divided along sectarian lines, a divide that plays into the hands of isil. hashem ahelbarra, al jazeera. sepp blatter is reported by under investigation by the fbi and u.s. prosecutors after shocking the football world by resigning. it was a dramatic u-turn by the fifa president after being reelected past friday. forrest haye reports from zurich. >> reporter: if this was the first day of a new life for fifa, you wouldn't know it. sepp blatter was still at work there was a mixed youth game on the grounds, suggesting the kind of sporting purity fifa's critics say vanished years ago. but blatter's announcement that he was to go was followed by interpole releasing red notices

against moyer fifa executives. >> we know that the $45 million spent by the [ inaudible ] taxpayer money was wasted because of a corrupt process. >> translator: it was a decision that should haven't been made given what was surrounding him. i will say it was a choice with a lot of inconvenient facts. >> reporter: and who should replace blatter? these people would be popular in europe but perhaps not in africa. it is now believed that someone with true global significance perhaps even kofi anan should as a control figure. >> we made a proposal back in

january that there was the implementation, the creation and implementation of an independent reform committee, and that needs to be lead by an imminent person. someone such as mitt romney. >> reporter: of course it's worth bearing in mind that blatter hasn't actually gone yet, it's not clear how long he will hang around for. the trouble for blatter's opponents is there is no other obvious unifying figure in world football to move fifa forward. of course the question in global corporate football is whether it is actually possible to move forward. ukraine and pro-russia separatists are blaming each other for the renewal of fighting near donetsk. the ukrainian spokesman says the

army has repelled an attack. but the separatists claim they first came under the ukrainian attack. a senior rebel commander says at least 15 people have been killed. president sisi is in germany seeks to boost economic ties. his arrival has caused a divide among german politicians. the head of parliament has refused to meet sisi citing a lack of democracy in egypt. >> human rights watch cannot understand why he gets the red carpet in germany, why so many high representatives like the chancellor and the president is meeting him. but now if he's here if he's to talk in germany, we think it is important that they address

clearly human rights issues and the human rights violations and to make the pending development of further relations based on an improvement of the human rights in egypt. still to come the migrants who found travelling by land is saver than traveling by boat. stay with us.

welcome back. i'm shiulie ghosh. let's remind you of the top stories. amnesty international is

accusing the nigerian military of committing war crimes during its fight against boko haram. it says the military must be investigated for the murder torture, starvation and suffocation of thousands of people. at least 70 people mostly civilians have been killed in an air strike in northern iraq. the attack targeted what was believed to be an isil position. and sepp blatter is reported to be under investigation of the fbi and u.s. prosecutors after shocking the world by announcing he was stepping down on tuesday. chinese maritime records show safety violations were found two years ago on the ship that capsized on monday. adrian brown reports from the scene of the disaster on the

yanksy river. >> reporter: more than 5,000 emergency workers have so far been deployed. on tuesday they heard yells from help coming from within the upturned hull but not since. the most dangerous work is being undertaken by drivers operating in the strong currents. and this is reportedly the last glimpse of the vessel recorded by a security camera on a nearby ship half an hour before it capsized. access to the site remains blocked by place and paramilitary troops. but on wednesday the government organized a boat trip to the area for foreign and chinese journalists. >> currently the focus of the operation is to try to find the survivors.

we will keep the hope to the last minute. >> reporter: moving into position a crane that might be used to support the vessel. the government has promised an investigation into why the eastern star sank so quickly. but it is clear what happened here on monday night is turning into the country's worst maritime accident in recent times. state media says the vessel was hit by a cyclone and capsized in two minutes. still unexplained is how the captain and chief engineer survived. relatives are demanding answer as well and tried to stage a demonstration in shanghai. the city where most of the passengers are from. even at a time like this such protests are illegal. for now they are not allowed to visit the rescue site either. so some go further upstream to grieve by the river's edge

adrian brown, al jazeera. thousands of rohingya are leaving myanmar for india. traveling by land is seen as a faster and safer way out than by boat. >> reporter: every day this person leaves home with the hope of finding work. he's an ethnic rohingya who came here last month after escaping from myanmar by boat to bangladesh and arrived on foot in india. he says he is safe now, but it hasn't been easy. >> translator: i can understand a bit of the local languages here but i can't speak them fluently. that's why i don't get picked up for day work as much as the locals. >> reporter: others are just settling in to this refugee

camp. this man says he arrived here three days ago. >> translator: we have been tortured back home i knew about the rohingya community and escaped here to save my life. >> reporter: in recent years thousands of rohingya have escaped to india, and more than 1700 of them have come here. some are registered as refugees with united nations. others are not. while conditions here are basic. most people seem happy to give up comfort for safety. just a few minutes away this neighborhood represents the hope that many some here with. being able to rent a property here is a sign of stability and acceptance by the wider community. as the unrest and violence grows in myanmar, so does the number of rohingya here.

>> the local people found they were competing with them for the jobs. the second issue was about the house rents. because more and more of the rohingya started coming here and the housing prices started going up. >> reporter: in one of india's biggest cities this man is just another face in the crowd, but compared to so many others his journey to get here as been longer and harder. south korean health workers have begun setting up temporary quarentine zones in hospitals to prevent the spread of the mers virus. more than a thousand people have been isolated to limit the spread of the disease. south korean president says the government will do everything it

can to stop the virus. >> translator: mers cases have increased in two weeks after the first case was confirmed. there are a lot of people worried about the situation since two patients died. everything must be done to stop any further spread. what is mers? well middle east respiratory syndrome first emerged in saudi arabia in 2012. mers causes flu-like symptoms including fever, coughing and shortness of breath. it can lead to severe complications. three to four people out of every ten die from the virus once contracted. >> reporter: the number of new infections is five, that brings the total to 30, that includes one man who traveled to china and is now in quarantine in china. one is a tertiary infection,

that means the man was not infected directly but was infected by one of the other people that he infected. there are three such cases. and that's one thing that the authorities here are very concerned about. making sure that they restrict the sorts of infections to the largest extent possible. because if they transition through several generations of infection, that makes it far more difficult to control. more than 1300 people are in quarantine, and just over 100 are in hospital. the government isn't saying which hospital because they don't want to spread concern, but it is providing fertile ground for rumor. lots of rumors flying around on social media, saying don't go to this hospital. one hospital is launching legal actions against such rumors.

and parents are telling principals near hospitals which have been named this way to close their schools down. 209 schools have been closed down in that fashion. it is being billed as the new silk road. so far business is brisk. tourists from kazakh stan are allowed to cross the border to buy goods, but tourists going the other way aren't so happy. >> reporter: this is still frontier territory between kazakh stan and china. it's a free trade zone where old barriers are breaking down. >> translator: we used to see the chinese, but for no good reason. but now it's quite the opposite. you come here and chinese citizens are ready to help with

any issue you might have. >> reporter: all you can hear and me is the sound of plastic tape being wrapped around boxes and bags full of everything from bicycles to car tires, clothes, and building materials. this is the new silk road. china has investigated as much as $4 billion in the venture, building malls and hotels for tourists to enjoy duty free shopping. but on the kazakh side chinese tourist can only by novelties. they have spent far less on development. experts believe the statistics complete the picture. >> translator: if you compare the official trade turnover figures of china and kazakhstan

they are calling it an uncontracted for trade. it's corruption. >> reporter: compared to other plans, the free trade zone is a drop in the ocean nch nearby hundreds of thousands of railway cars will transit through this dry port when completed. this is where china's relentless expansion westward begins and there's no looking back. robin forestier-walker all -- al jazeera. the deadline for the agreement between the united states and iran over the nuclear program is looming. but many americans in iranian jails say there shouldn't be a deal until their family members

are set free. the families share their stories with u.s. lawmakers. they speak of torture, a lack of due process and fair representation in iranian courts. >> let me be very clear the charges against jason are false. jason did sometimes write about iran's domestic and foreign policy but this is recognized around the world as practicing jurnallism. >> reporter: he has been charged with passing information to a hostile government. >> he became the first american to receive the death sentence since 1979. >> reporter: sarah's brother is a duel national of iran and served in the u.s. military. despite being issued a visa to visit family in iran he was arrested there more than three years ago, his family reports he has been tortured and held in solitary confinement for

cooperating with a hostile government. >> how can the u.s. still be considered a hostile government to iran. >> reporter: that's a question both democratic and republican lawmakers want answered. >> we should halt these negotiation until these prisoners are released. >> they continue to poke us in the eye and spit in our face. it would be ludicrous and outrageous for us to have a deal with iran that doesn't include the bringing home of our hostages. >> reporter: but the white house has said it will not allow the prisoners to become bargaining chips. so lawmakers have introduced a resolution to press iran independently from the white house. they are hopeful there is still time to secure release.

and don't forget you can keep up to date with all of the day's developments by going to our website, the news of the day, and indeed the news dominated by sepp blatter resignation. that's aljazeera.com. president obama signs the u.s. freedom act. police in boston make another arrest after killing a man under fbi surveillance. authorities say the suspect lunged at them with a knife when they tried to question them. and a new alert from interpole, could a change in leadership help u.s. chances t