H.Res. 53 — Introduced in House

IV 114th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 53 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 27, 2015 Ms. Kelly of Illinois submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Condemning the cowardly attack on innocent men, women, and children in the northeastern Nigerian town of Baga. Whereas, on the night of January 3, 2015, the terrorist group Boko Haram launched a cowardly attack on innocent men, women, and children in the northeastern Nigerian town of Baga; Whereas the terrorists of Boko Haram used assault rifles, grenade launchers, and fire to slaughter innocent civilians; Whereas the scope of casualties in this attack totals in the hundreds and possibly thousands; Whereas most of the victims of this attack were women, children, and elderly people; Whereas Amnesty International describes the attack as the terrorist group’s deadliest massacre to date; Whereas local defense groups are reported to have given up counting the bodies left lying on the streets of Baga; Whereas these unprovoked attacks have resulted in many Nigerians being not likely to vote in the upcoming Presidential elections; Whereas human rights groups have indicated that the Nigerian state security forces should improve efforts to protect civilians during offensive operations against Boko Haram; Whereas numerous reports have indicated security forces in the region are fleeing when confronted by Boko Haram; Whereas Boko Haram now reportedly controls Baga and 16 neighboring towns in northeastern Nigeria; Whereas this terrorist group killed 10,000 people in Nigeria alone in 2014; and Whereas Boko Haram has displaced over 1,000,000 innocent people: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives— (1) expresses its strong support for the people of Nigeria, especially the men, women, and children in the northeastern Nigerian town of Baga who were victimized, abducted, trafficked, and murdered by the terrorist group Boko Haram; (2) condemns Boko Haram for its violent attacks on civilian targets, including schools, mosques, churches, villages, and agricultural centers in Nigeria; (3) encourages the Government of Nigeria to strengthen efforts to protect civilians from the terrorists of Boko Haram; (4) supports offers of United States assistance to the Government of Nigeria in the search for the school girls abducted by Boko Haram; and (5) encourages the Government of Nigeria to work with the United States, and other governments in the region such as Chad, Niger, and Cameroon, to defeat Boko Haram.