UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Islamist militant group Boko Haram is blamed for at least 18 attacks on civilians in northern Nigeria in the past two weeks and the escalating violence of the insurgency threatens the security of West Africa, a senior U.N. official said on Tuesday.
The U.N. special envoy for West Africa, Said Djinnit, told the U.N. Security Council that insecurity in northeastern Nigeria, coupled with growing political tensions ahead of planned general elections in 2015, had left the country at a crossroads.