The United Nations has condemned the increasing violent conflicts between herdsmen and farmers in parts of Africa especially the recent killings in Plateau, Nigeria.
It described it as contravening global humanitarian law.
In a statement calling for deliberate action to stem the conflicts, the UN spokesperson, Stephanie Dujarric, quoted the Secretary General of the world body, Antonio Guterres, as saying he was “deeply concerned about the increasing frequency, intensity, complexity and geographic scope of violent conflict between herders and farmers.”
The statement further quoted him as saying “more than 80 people in central Nigeria were killed in land disputes between the two sides this week. However, this has been a long-standing issue with similar incidents occurring in other countries in Africa and caused more than 1, 000 deaths over the past year alone, according to media reports.”
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Expressing regrets over the killings, the Secretary General noted that all attacks targeting civilians violated international humanitarian law, even as he condemned the loss of “property and livelihood as well as population displacement, which undermine peaceful coexistence among communities” in many of the affected countries.
He further expressed concern over what he described as “mounting violence, as well as resulting banditry, extortion and cattle rustling” in several countries across West and Central Africa.
He therefore urged all governments, regional organisations, civil society and other relevant actors in the affected areas to work together to find acceptable and lasting solutions to the conflicts, stressing that “this should be done in full compliance with existing regional and regulatory frameworks and international humanitarian and human rights law.”
The UN chief said the body was led to lend support to the national and regional efforts at resolving disputes between herders and farmers.
