Critics should \u201cthink twice\u201d before making statements about the complex security situation in the African state, the body\u2019s chairman has said<\/p>\n
The African Union Commission (AUC) has dismissed US President Donald Trump\u2019s allegations that a genocide is taking place in Nigeria against \u201cvery large numbers\u201d of Christians. The body warned that such statements distort the reality of a complex conflict.
\nTrump placed Nigeria on a list of \u2018Countries of Particular Concern\u2019 this month, citing persistent insecurity and attacks by extremist groups. He also ordered the Pentagon to prepare potential military options to \u201cprotect\u201d Christians.
\nThe move followed claims by Republican US Congressman Riley Moore that more than 7,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria this year, with hundreds more abducted or displaced by armed groups such as Boko Haram.
\nAUC chairman Mahmoud Ali Youssouf told reporters at a joint press conference with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Wednesday that \u201cthere is no genocide\u201d in northern Nigeria, contrary to allegations made by US officials.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe first victims of Boko Haram are Muslims, not Christians,\u201d Youssouf said, warning that the \u201ccomplexity\u201d of the security situation in northern Nigeria should \u201cpush us to think twice before declaring or making such statements.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat\u2019s going on in the northern part of Nigeria has nothing to do with the kind of atrocities we see in Sudan or in some part of eastern DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo],\u201d Youssouf said.
\nHe backed the Nigerian government\u2019s position that violence in Africa\u2019s most populous country affects people of all religious affiliations. Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) have waged an insurgency in the country\u2019s northeast for more than 15 years, leaving tens of thousands dead and displacing millions more.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Africa expert decodes Trump\u2019s Nigeria rhetoric<\/p>\n
Last week, Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar rejected the US allegations and cautioned against rhetoric that could fuel the partitioning of the country along religious or tribal lines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Critics should \u201cthink twice\u201d before making statements about the complex security situation in the African state, the body\u2019s chairman has said The African Union Commission (AUC) has dismissed US President…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t