The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on Thursday, deplored the suicide bomb attack that took place at a mosque in Kouyape, in Cameroon’s northern region on the morning of 13 January 2016, resulting to 13 deaths, including the suicide bomber, and several wounded.

Dr. Dlamini Zuma condemned such senseless attacks against innocent civilians and expressed deep sympathy to the families of the victims and wished them a speedy recovery to the injured.

She also expressed the AU’s solidarity with the people and government of Cameroon and thanked the government for its continued efforts to combat terrorism, especially the Boko Haram “terrorist” group that has pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State (IS).

The Chairperson reiterated the AU’s continued commitment, through the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) established by the member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and Benin to eliminate or neutralize Boko Haram.

Dr. Dlamini Zuma recalled that at its 560th meeting, on the ongoing efforts to neutralize Boko Haram, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on November 26, 2015, the Peace and Security Council commended the LCBC member states and Benin for their continued efforts to fully operationalize the MNJTF.

She called for stronger global cooperation in the efforts to prevent and combat terrorism, in line with various AU and global instruments.