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UN, UK have condemned the Boko Haram attacks.
The United Kingdom has condemned as “cowardly and contemptible” Boko Haram’s Sunday’s attack on a mosque in Konduga, Borno state, in which 44 worshippers were killed and another 26 wounded.
British Cabinet Minister, Mark Simmonds, who is in charge of Africa, said in a statement on Tuesday: “Attacking innocent people in a place of worship is a contemptible and cowardly act”.
He said Britain “stands with the government and people of Nigeria as they seek to reduce violence in the north east of the country.”
The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, also “strongly condemned” the attacks in a statement issued by his spokesperson.
“He expresses his condolences to the bereaved families and calls on all extremist groups to cease their attacks,” the statement said.
“The Secretary-General reiterates his firm conviction that no objective can be attained through such violence. He calls on all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue and other peaceful means.”
Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, also denounced the killings, and called for rigorous efforts to fight terrorism on the African continent.
“The killings of 44 people in a mosque in Nigeria is tragic & we mourn with the people of Nigeria. Terrorism should have no place in Africa,” she said in a Twitter post.
Sunday’s attack took place in Konduga in Borno state, 35km (22 miles) from the state capital Maiduguri.
Attackers wearing army camouflage fatigues struck under cover of darkness as residents were saying their dawn prayers at around 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
The attack was the latest in a string of escalating violence by Boko Haram since the declaration of state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
The government imposed a state of emergency in three northeastern states and deployed thousands more troops to try to put down the Islamic uprising that poses the greatest threat in years to security and unity in Africa’s largest oil producer.
In a follow up video obtained by journalists on Monday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, bragged over recent attacks, threatens more, and said his group is now strong enough to go after the United States.
In the video, Mr. Shekau brushed off any gains claimed by the military during the emergency operation.
“You soldiers have claimed that you are powerful, that we have been defeated, that we are mad people,” Mr. Shekau says, speaking in the local Hausa language. “But how can a mad man successfully coordinate recent attacks in Gamboru, in Malam Fatori, slaughter people in Biu, kill in Gwoza and in Bama, where soldiers fled under our heavy fire power?
“We have killed countless soldiers and we are going to kill more.”
He further said the extremists’ “strength and firepower has surpassed that of Nigeria. … We can now comfortably confront the United States of America.”
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