UN Security Council to Visit Nigeria to Tackle Boko Haram

The United Nations Security Council has announced that they will be visiting Nigeria within the next few weeks to discuss a strategy for combatting terrorist group, Boko Haram.

Matthew Rycroft, the British ambassador, said that besides visiting Nigeria and meeting with Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, the 15 council members will also visit other African countries that have been affected by Boko Haram including Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

Stephen O’Brien, aid chief of the United Nations, said that the crisis with Boko Haram started out as a security issue for Nigeria and its neighbouring countries, but has now developed into a humanitarian crisis due to lack of food and proper nutrition.

The UN has said that they intend to increase their efforts in tackling Boko Haram and the devastation they leave in their wake in 2017.

It is believed that more than 2.4 million people – including citizens from Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and other African countries – have been affected by Boko Haram.

Rycroft also labelled the issue with Boko Haram in Nigeria and the other African countries as a humanitarian crisis:

“…Underneath that suffering is the threat of Boko Haram, so that is an international peace and security issue as well as a humanitarian crisis.”