Maiduguri: Canada, EU others express concern over Military invasion of UN base

Canada, European Union and other countries have expressed their concern over the recent military invasion of the United Nations base for humanitarian workers in Maiduguri, Borno State. Aside Canada, EU other countries that condemned the invasion include Australia, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

In a joint statement issued this morning, the members of the donor community expressed their concern with respect to  what they described as ‘’unauthorized search by the Nigerian military of a United Nations base for humanitarian workers in Maiduguri, Borno state on 11 August, 2017’’.

‘’We welcome the clarifications provided by the Nigerian government at the federal and state levels and we take note of the acknowledgement that this operation was a mistake. We appreciate the government’s commitment to uphold the principles of International Humanitarian Law which protect all humanitarian organizations’’, the statement read in part.

‘’We wish to confirm our commitment to support humanitarian operations in north-east Nigeria, and reaffirm our determination to continue to work closely with the government of Nigeria, the United Nations and other international aid agencies to assist and protect the most vulnerable in the region’’, it added.