The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) on Saturday condemned terrorism and violent extremism in Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mauritania as well as some countries in East Africa.
Terrorist groups including Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province, have perpetrated scores of dastard acts in Nigeria over the last decade.
Spokesman to the president, Garba Shehu, in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, said the retired general condemned the activities of terrorists in Libya, East Africa and the Sahel region at a meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council at the 33rd AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Buhari said, ”Nigeria condemns, in the strongest terms, the perpetrators of terrorism in Libya, the Sahel, and parts of the Horn of Africa.
We reiterate that efforts must continue to be pooled to mitigate this dreadful violence and secure the future of our continent.”
Buhari urged the AU to devise new strategies to resolve conflicts on the continent.
“The AU must strengthen its own capacity for mediation and develop an effective intervention roadmap,” adding that emphasis should be placed on promoting national dialogue, reconciliation and social cohesion in order to rally all actors toward sustainable peace.
(NAN)