Stop Boko Haram's reign of terror

Dear Avaazers everywhere,

Boko Haram just used a 10-year-old girl as a bomb-detonator right after massacring up to 2,000 people. But the government and the international community are hardly responding. Let’s call for an emergency UN Security Council meeting now:

Boko Haram just used a 10-year-old girl as a bomb-detonator right after massacring up to 2,000 people. There is a reign of terror in Northern Nigeria.

But Nigerian President Jonathan has said almost NOTHING about this in his election campaign, and his brutal army, instead of protecting civilians, is fuelling the insurgency.

The world has put this crisis in the ‘too hard to solve’ box -- the UN Security Council hasn't even issued a Presidential Statement on Nigeria!

The only good news: escalating violence has renewed pressure to act.

Let's multiply that pressure now and persuade our leaders and the United Nations to convene an emergency Security Council meeting and prioritise this crisis.

Join this urgent call -- for the sake of that tiny, innocent girl, and all those like her at risk:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_boko_haram_terror_en/?bIiqNab&v=51541

Nigeria is deep into a brutal conflict that's ostensibly a Muslim/Christian war, but underlying it are tensions between an oil-rich, corrupt, ruling elite and a poor, disenfranchised and neglected North. Over 10,000 people were killed in 2014, and over 1.6 million Nigerians have fled their homes. Boko Haram now controls an area the size of Denmark.

Politicians have fed this divide, and the recent surge in violence comes in the middle of a deadly election campaign. Shockingly, President Jonathan’s under-resourced response could be part of a dark game -- if there is chaos in the North and low voter turnout, he is more likely to stay in power since his support base is in the South.

International military advisers and special forces have been sent in, but there is hesitation about working with Nigerian units with terrible human rights records. The UN Council should now prioritise a comprehensive plan that includes cleaning up and training security forces to contain Boko Haram; investing in the poorest regions; and prioritising an anti-corruption programme.

This is not a short, sharp, shock strategy -- this crisis cannot be solved in days -- but it is immoral to ignore it any longer. Our global community can ensure the UN Security Council finally lays out a genuine plan for peace.

If we do nothing, thousands more will be killed, and the Boko Haram threat will spread. The attacks in Paris have reminded us that terror has no borders. Join the call:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_boko_haram_terror_en/?bIiqNab&v=51541

With elections looming and violence escalating, Nigeria is like a boiling pot. Politicians have failed their people, and the international community has allowed the situation to deteriorate. We cannot wait any longer and with enough backing, a strong UN statement could begin to change the game. Let’s make it happen.

With hope and determination,

Alice, Pascal, Mike, Melanie, Marigona, Ricken and the rest of the Avaaz team

Sources:

Nigeria: two suspected child suicide bombers attack market (The Guardian)
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/11/child-suicide-bombers-nigeria-market

UNOWA Briefing and Consultations
http://www.whatsinblue.org/2015/01/unowa-briefing-and-consultations.php

Nigeria’s Jonathan Slams Paris Attack, Ignores Baga Massacre (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-12/nigeria-s-jonathan-slams-islamist-raids-abroad-is-muted-at-home.html

Nigeria's Boko Haram: Baga destruction 'shown in images' (BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-30826582

Uniting Against Boko Haram (BloombergView)
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-01-13/boko-haram-can-be-stopped-by-a-nigeria-united-again

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