UN Security Council says Boko Haram is linked to al-Qaeda
Security Council puts Islamist group in Nigeria on list for arms embargo and asset freezes
The UN Security Council has officially declared Boko Haram a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda and imposed sanctions against the Islamists who have carried out a wave of deadly attacks and the recent abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria.
US ambassador Samantha Power welcomed the council's action on Thursday, calling it "an important step in support of the government of Nigeria's efforts to defeat Boko Haram and hold its murderous leadership accountable for atrocities".
Nigeria, which is serving a two-year term on the council, asked the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against al-Qaeda to add Boko Haram to the list of linked organisations subject to an arms embargo and asset freeze.
There were no objections from the 14 other members.
Australian UN ambassador Gary Quinlan, who chairs the al-Qaeda sanctions committee, said there was "very clear evidence" that Boko Haram members had trained with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, particularly in developing improvised explosive devices - "one of the main weapons of modern-day terrorism and particularly al-Qaeda".
There was also evidence that a significant number of Boko Haram members had fought alongside al-Qaeda affiliates in Mali, he said.
Quinlan said Boko Haram's current leader, Abubakar Shekau, also made "very, very strong statements of terrorist solidarity with al-Qaeda in Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia" and other places in November 2012.