The AU committed to extend all necessary support to the regional efforts to combat Boko Haram

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - 12 January 2015: The Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, strongly condemns the despicable attacks that the Boko Haram terrorist group continues to commit in various parts of Nigeria and elsewhere in the region. The Chairperson is especially horrified by the recent massacre perpetrated in the town of Baga, in Borno State, and in a market in Potiskum, northeast Nigeria, with the involvement of female suicide bombers, one reported to be as young as ten years old.

The Chairperson of the Commission reiterates AU’s full solidarity with the people and Government of Nigeria, and expresses her deep sympathy to the families of the victims.

The Chairperson of the Commission reiterates AU’s commitment to continue working with Nigeria and the other countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), as well as with Benin, towards the mobilization of the required international support to the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) mandated by the countries of the region to combat the Boko Haram terrorist group. The Commission will expedite its consultations with the countries of the region towards the effective implementation of the relevant provisions of the communiqué adopted on this issue by the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) on 25 November 2014.

The Chairperson of the Commission appeals to the larger international community to renew its unity and support to the countries of the region, in order to defeat the Boko Haram terrorist group, whose only agenda is to cause havoc, destruction and death. She stresses the urgency of a coordinated African and international response, in view of the increasing threat that the Boko Haram terrorist group and terrorism in general poses to regional peace and security.