Boko Haram attacks on Baga ruthless, criminal, says UN

The United Nations (UN) has condemned what it termed the vicious and ruthless attacks against civilians in the North East town of Bama by Boko Haram elements, saying deliberate targeting of civilians was criminal.
Director, UN Information Service in Geneva, Corinne Momal-Vanian, made the position known during a press briefing, attended by dpokespersons for the Human Rights Council, International Labour Organisation, UN Development Programme, International Organisation for Migration, UN Children’s Fund and the World Food Programme.
Ms Ravina Shamdasani of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said the commission deeply deplored the vicious, ruthless attacks against civilians in Baga.
Shamdasani, in a strong condemnation, regretted that Boko Haram had reportedly been operating in Baga since January 3, 2015.
“While the exact details remained unclear, what was fairly certain was that mass killings and mass forced displacement had occurred.
“The deliberate targeting of civilians was clearly prohibited by international law.
“OHCHR was very concerned at reports that there were children and elderly people among the victims,” Shamdasani said.
She said killings at marketplaces in Maiduguri and in Potiskum, Yobe State, were particularly shocking, given reports that young girls might had been forced to carry out the attacks.
“The use of a child to detonate a bomb was not only morally repugnant but constituted an egregious form of child exploitation under international law,” she said.
She urged the Nigerian government to act swiftly to restore law and order, while ensuring that “security operations were conducted in line with international law and full respect for human rights”.
According to her, OHCHR urged Nigerian authorities to create conditions for an effective investigation into the incidents, to establish the facts surrounding the killings and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Shamdasani noted a statement by the spokesperson for the Nigerian Ministry of Defence had outlined attempts to re-establish law and order.
She said “OHCHR urged that those efforts be redoubled and encouraged them to take place with full force” but “in line with international human rights obligations of Nigeria”.
Mr Jens Laerke, of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the attacks in Baga on January 3 and 7 had displaced 150,000 people, according to the Borno Emergency Management Agency.
According to him, however, independent access was not currently possible, adding, that figure had yet to be verified by the UN.
He, however, said that humanitarian assistance was being provided by the Federal Government through the National Emergency Management Agency, the State Emergency Management Agency in Borno and the Nigerian Red Cross.
Laerke explained that OCHA stood ready to provide further support if asked to do so.
He said there was a complete lock down and no independent access to the area so it was difficult to give precise details.
According to him, the pattern of internal displacement showed that most people were staying with host families, not in camps.
Mr William Spindler, for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), announced that 11,320 Nigerian internally displaced persons had fled into Chad since the attack on Jan. 3.
He said 60 per cent of the IDPs were women and girls, 40 per cent were men, and 84 were non-accompanied children.
“Some 2,000 people were currently stranded on an island on Lake Chad and UNHCR was transferring them to the Chadian mainland.
“UNHCR, WFP and other agencies were providing assistance to the new arrivals” Spindler.