The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday condemned the attack against a UN monitoring team near the Nigeria-Cameroon border.

"The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the attack against a United Nations monitoring team, near the Nigeria-Cameroon border, on January 31, 2017, during which one UN independent contractor, three Nigerian nationals and one Cameroonian national were killed and others injured," it said in a statement.

Meanwhile, it reiterated in the statement that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.

Concerned about the security situation in the Cameroon-Nigerian border areas, which it blamed on Boko-Haram related violence, the security council urged both Cameroon and Nigeria to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and staff operating in their territories.

The Boko-Haram insurgency since 2009 has killed at least 20,000 people and left more than 2.6 million homeless. The Islamic extremist group, based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon, announced its allegiance to the Islamic State group in 2015.

source: Xinhua