Nigerian troops have opened fire and burned buildings in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, reportedly killing 30 People.
The shootings came after a bomb blast targeting the army had injured two soldiers.
According to the army spokesman Lt Col Sagir Musa it was noted that soldiers had not shot any civilians.
Maiduguri has been under siege from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which wants Sharia law in Nigeria.
On Sunday, the army said it killed 30 Boko Haram members in another north-eastern city, Damaturu.
Eyewitnesses in Maiduguri said soldiers began to indiscriminately open fire on residents and set fire to homes and businesses.
An Associated Press reporter in the city reportedly counted 30 bodies and 50 buildings that had been set ablaze.
Unnamed nurses at the local Umaru Shehu were quoted by Reuters news agency as saying that 30 bodies in civilian clothes had been brought in, with a further five corpses in military uniforms.
pic:shehu of bornu's palace
"Initially, soldiers that came after the explosion harassed residents, whipping them," one person told AFP news agency.
"But later they went on a shooting spree and started setting homes and shops on fire."
Another resident said the soldiers "shot everybody in sight".
Not trusted by either side, people complain that they are stuck in the middle between the bombs of Boko Haram and the bullets of the army.
Col Musa confirmed earlier on Monday that two soldiers had been injured in a bomb blast targeting an army patrol vehicle in Maiduguri.
Attacks in central and northern Nigeria blamed on Boko Haram have killed some 1,400 people since 2010.
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