African Union Chief Says ‘No Genocide’ in Nigeria’s Troubled North
African Union Commission chair Mahamoud Ali Youssouf has declared there is “no genocide in northern Nigeria,” refuting US President Donald Trump’s recent claims that Christians face mass slaughter at the hands of jihadists. Youssouf stated at a New York press conference that the “complexity of the situation in northern Nigeria should push us to think twice before making such statements.” Youssouf clarified that Boko Haram’s attacks have impacted both Muslim and Christian communities, with Muslims being “the first victims” of the insurgency. Nigeria, with a roughly equal Christian south and Muslim-majority north, experiences indiscriminate violence from jihadist groups, but not targeted Christian genocide. Since 2009, Boko Haram has killed more than 40,000 and displaced over two million, according to UN data. Youssouf stressed that mislabeling the crisis as genocide oversimplifies the grave security challenges facing Nigeria and risks misunderstanding the […]
