ABUJA, Nigeria — Nigerian Army soldiers opened fire and killed nine women protesting the army's handling of communal clashes in the northeastern Adamawa state, witnesses and Amnesty International told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The women were protesting on Monday along a major road in Adamawa's local government Lamurde when the soldiers shot at them after being blocked from passing, witnesses and victims' relatives told the AP in details first reported on Tuesday. Ten others were injured in the shooting, witnesses said.

The Nigerian Army in a statement denied killing anyone and blamed the deaths on a local militia it said opened fire in the area.

Amnesty International's Nigeria office said the agency confirmed soldiers killed the nine protesters, citing accounts from witnesses and

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