The United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Nderitu, on Thursday strongly condemned the January 24 airstrike in a village on the border of Nasarawa and Benue States, Nigeria, during which at least 40 herders, mostly Fulani, were killed and dozens more civilians were injured.
Nderitu, who recalled another airstrike that killed 54 civilians in 2017 at an IDP camp in Borno State, said he was particularly concerned about the situation in the North West and North Central regions of Nigeria , where the air attacks took place.
« If not taken into account, this dynamic of targeting communities according to identity criteria risks further fueling inter-community tensions, recruitment by armed groups and reprisal attacks, with an obvious impact on civilians » , she warned, according to the UN press service.
The expert on genocide prevention believes that the deterioration of the security situation in this West African country is characterized by the politicization of transhumance, the seasonal movement of cattle for grazing, and the growing divisions between communities, especially on the basis of stigma along religious and ethnic lines.
“In this extremely volatile environment, it is important that the general elections scheduled for February 25, 2023 do not trigger violence or even atrocity crimes,” she warned.
Another concern of Nderitu is the growing trends of hate speech along identity lines and incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence that permeates political discourse in the country, according to the service. information from the United Nations.
In this context, the Special Adviser called on all political leaders to respect the peace agreement they signed, which includes a commitment to carry out peaceful campaigns.
Likewise, she encouraged religious and traditional leaders to work to ease tensions, prevent incitement to violence and address the risk of atrocity crimes ahead of the elections and beyond.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1036 of 03/02/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
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