The UN Security Council committee on al-
Qaeda sanctions has blacklisted Nigeria's Boko
Haram, a month after the armed
group kidnapped hundreds of schoolgirls.
Nigeria, which until recently had been
reluctant to seek international help to combat
Boko Haram, requested earlier this week the
group be sanctioned. As a result, it is now
subject to an international asset freeze, travel
ban and arms embargo.
"What will the practical impact of that be?
Hard to say but it's an essential step we had to
take," said Australian UN Ambassador Gary
Quinlan, the al-Qaeda sanctions committee
chair, adding that the aim was to "dry up
support" for the group.
"We will work to try and make sure that
anybody supplying any material assistance to
Boko Haram – whether funding or arms – will
in fact be stopped, will be deterred by the fact
they too will be eligible for listing on the
sanctions list."
RELATED: The origins of Nigeria's Boko
Haram
Boko Haram kidnapped nearly 300 girls from a
secondary school in Chibok in remote
northeastern Nigeria on April 14 and has
threatened to sell them into slavery. Eight
other girls were taken from another village
earlier this month.
Boko Haram's five-year-old insurgency is
aimed at creating an Islamic state the north
of Nigeria, whose 170 million people are split
roughly evenly between Christians and Muslims.
'Terrorist expertise'
The UN listing entry describes Boko Haram as
an affiliate of al-Qaeda and the Organisation of
al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
"Boko Haram has maintained a relationship
with the Organisation of al-Qaeda in the
Islamic Maghreb for training and material
support purposes," according to the narrative
summary accompanying the listing.
"For example, Boko Haram gained valuable
knowledge on the construction of improvised
explosive devices from AQIM. A number of
Boko Haram members fought alongside al-
Qaeda affiliated groups in Mali [in] 2012 and
2013 before returning to Nigeria with terrorist
expertise," Reuters quoted the document as
saying.
US Ambassador Samantha Power hailed the
sanctions as "an important step" to support
Nigeria in defeating "Boko Haram and hold its
murderous leadership accountable for
atrocities."
The group has recently escalated its campaign
of attacks that have left thousands dead since
2009, and the abduction of the schoolgirls
have sparked global outrage.
Twenty-nine farm workers were shot dead by
suspected Boko Haram members on Thursday
in a remote area in the northeast. It comes day
after bombings in the city of Jos , blamed on
the group, killed about 130 people.
Abuja protest
In the Nigerian capital Abuja on Thursday,
about 200 protesters called on President
Goodluck Jonathan to do more to recover the
girls.
Al Jazeera's Mohammed Adow, reporting from
the protest, said the demonstrators were
marching towards the president's office were
stopped by police.
"The police formed a ring around the
protesters who defiantly sat in the middle of
the road," he said.
A government delegation met the marchers
and delivered a statement from Jonathan.
In it, the Nigerian leader reiterated the
government's commitment to finding the girls
but said protests should be directed at "the
terrorists who have abducted our innocent
daughters."
The statement irked the demonstrators, who
demanded to meet Jonathan.
"Please let Mr President know that none of the
issues raised has been addressed," said march
organiser Obi Ezekwesili, a former education
minister and World Bank executive.
Many state-run schools were shut on Thursday
on the orders of the Nigerian Union of
Teachers to allow a "day of protest" against the
abduction of the girls, the AFP news agency
reported.
The United States announced Wednesday that
80 military personnel had been deployed to
neighbouring Chad to help find the 223
missing girls.
Nigeria has also accepted help from British,
French and Israeli specialists amid a
groundswell of pressure fuelled by a social
media campaign.
