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Boko Haram: EP alarmed at risk of chaos in Lake Chad Basin

Xinhua, October 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

The European Parliament (EP) on Thursday called for immediate coordinated international action to limit the chaos being caused by Islamist group Boko Haram in Nigeria.

In particular, MEPs called for further protection for children, but also for all inhabitants of the Lake Chad Basin.

In a resolution adopted almost unanimously, MEPs strongly condemned the attacks by the organization that pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State in West Africa in March this year.

The armed group, which is responsible for numerous massacres and kidnappings of civilians of all faiths in Nigeria and Cameroon, also operates in Chad and Niger. It is now moving into the Lake Chad Basin region.

Since February, the UN has attributed no less than 50 attacks to the terror group.

In their resolution, MEPs demanded measures be taken to facilitate the work of United Nations representatives on the ground as well as NGOs. The main objective, they said, is to prevent displaced children and young people from being subjected to forms of sexual violence or abduction, or being forcibly recruited into Boko Haram's ranks.

Boko Haram, which can be translated as "Western education is a sin", particularly attacks colleges and schools whose teachings are deemed contrary to Sharia Law.

High school girls are sometimes the first targets. If they are not killed in raids, they are often kidnapped, raped, and forcibly married to jihadists.

In early 2015, Boko Haram had 4,000 to 6,000 troops according to French estimates, while American and Cameroonian sources put the figure at 13,000 to 15,000. But it is impossible to know exactly what the real numbers are.

NGO Human Rights Watch says the group has killed nearly 6,000 civilians between 2009 and 2014.

The EP called on the Nigerian government to cooperate with neighboring countries to adopt measures depriving Boko Haram of its sources of illegal income.

MEPs also urged the Nigerian authorities to eliminate corruption within public institutions and the army.

In the case of children formerly associated with Boko Haram and other armed groups, MEPs said "non-judicial measures should be considered as an alternative to prosecution and detention." Endit