Nigeria Asks for U.N. Sanctions on Boko Haram

Nigeria asked the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on Boko Haram, the armed Islamist group that claimed the kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls, and list it as a terrorist group, diplomats said Tuesday.

They said Nigeria lodged the request with a Security Council committee that deals with sanctions against al-Qaida-linked groups.

The decision to add Boko Haram to the black list will go into effect on Thursday if no objections are raised by any of the council's 15 members.

The sanctions imposed by the committee typically involve freezing of assets, an arms embargo and travel bans.

Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping in mid-April of more than 200 schoolgirls in Chibok, in northeastern Nigeria.

Their attacks have left thousands dead since 2009.

The imposition of U.N. sanctions on the group was recommended Saturday at a conference in Paris that brought together the presidents of Nigeria, Chad, Cameroun, Niger and Benin as well as representatives of the United States, Britain and France.