United Nations condemns Islamist violence in Nigeria

(Vatican Radio) The United Nations on Tuesday condemned the murder of more than 150 people in two states in Nigeria on Sunday. The Islamist group Boko Haram is accused of being behind the attack. The group says it wants to establish an Islamic state based on sharia law, and its attacks killed over twelve hundred people in 2013.

"We condemn in the strongest terms Sunday's attack by gunmen against eight villages in Adamawa and Borno States, which led to the death of more than 150 people,” said Ravina Shamdasani is spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. “According to reports, about 65 persons were killed in seven villages in Adamawa State, while some 90 others were killed in Izge village, Borno State. Many residents have now fled the area for fear of further attacks by the armed men. We are appalled by the extreme and indiscriminate violence which Nigeria has being witnessing in recent times."

Meanwhile, the Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, said the army is losing the war against the Islamist group.

``Given the present state of affairs, it is absolutely impossible for us to defeat Boko Haram,'' he said.

The Archbishop of Jos, Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, also said the authorities “have so far failed to fulfill their task of ensuring peace and security to Nigerians in every area of the country.”

Archbishop Kaigama, who also serves as the president of the Nigerian Catholic bishops' conference, told the Fides news agency "the latest massacre in northern Nigeria does not surprise me anymore, because Boko Haram follows a regular pattern, aimed at terrorizing the population."

The Archbishop told Fides "we need to go to the root of the phenomenon. "

"I think there are groups outside Nigeria that offer sophisticated assistance to the Nigerian radical formations," he said.

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