Nigeria leader vows action after Nairobi assault

He said that the reign of terror was an assault of collective humanity

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan today vowed to pursue his own crackdown on Islamist extremists following a bloody assault on a shopping mall in Kenya.

"The reign of terror anywhere in the world is an assault on our collective humanity," Jonathan told the UN General Assembly.

Condemning the "dastardly terrorist attack" by Somalia's Shebab militants against Nairobi's Westgate mall, Jonathan said, "We must stand together to win this war together."

Jonathan said that Nigeria also faced a "challenge to national stability" in reference to Boko Haram, an Islamist movement whose insurgency in Africa's most populous country has left more than 3,600 people dead since 2009.

"We will spare no effort in addressing this menace. We are therefore confronting it with every resource," Jonathan said.

Jonathan insisted that Nigerian forces were also showing "due regard for fundamental human rights."

Human rights groups have accused Nigerian forces of major abuses against civilians.

Nigeria's human rights commission is investigating allegations that security agents shot dead eight unarmed squatters in the capital Abuja on Friday in the guise of fighting Boko Haram.