The African Union strongly condemns the latest attacks perpetrated by the Boko Haram terrorist group / The AU welcomes the regional efforts to fight against Boko Haram and renews its commitment to support them

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, strongly condemns the dastardly attack perpetrated yesterday, 27 July 2014, by the Boko Haram terrorist group, against the Cameroonian locality of Kolofata, during which a number of people were kidnapped, while several others were killed. She expresses the AU's full solidarity with Cameroon and its people, as well as its unreserved support to the efforts being exerted by the Cameroonian authorities to prevent and fight these terrorist acts. By the same token, she renews the continuous solidarity of the AU with Nigeria and its full support to the action taken by that country to fight the campaign of terror and destruction waged by Boko Haram.

The Chairperson of the Commission notes that the attack in Kolofata, which took place against the backdrop of other similar incidents in the north of Cameroon, and the continuation of Boko Haram's acts of terrorism in Nigeria illustrate, once again, the seriousness of the threat posed by this group to regional security and stability. She welcomes the commendable efforts being made by the countries of the region to facilitate a coordinated and more effective action against Boko Haram, and encourages them to enhance their cooperation.

The Chairperson of the Commission reaffirms the AU's readiness to support the efforts of the countries of the region within the framework of its overall strategy against terrorism and transnational organized crime in Africa. In this regard, she underlines that the Commission has initiated consultations with the countries of the region on the follow-up to the Operational Conclusions of the 5th meeting of the Heads of Intelligence and Security Services of the Sahelo-Saharan region states, held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on 19 and 20 May 2014, particularly through the dispatch, on the field, of a Technical Assessment Mission (TAM). The objective of the TAM will be to assess the situation and agree with all concerned stakeholders on the modalities of an appropriate AU support to the ongoing efforts, notably on the basis of the encouraging experience of the AU-led Regional Cooperation Initiative for the Elimination of the Lord's Resistance Army (RCI-LRA), which is implemented with the support of international partners. It should be recalled that the Ouagadougou Operational Conclusions, which provide for a number of steps to enhance the African action against the Boko Haram terrorist group, were welcomed by both the 436th meeting of the Peace and Security Council, held on 23 May 2014, and the 23rd Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from 26 to 27 June 2014.