United Nations, Jan 12 (IANS): UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the reported killings of hundreds of civilians in Nigeria by Boko Haram militants.

"The Secretary-General is appalled by reports of hundreds of civilians killed around the town of Baga, Borno state, near Nigeria's border with Chad, a country in Central Africa, last week," Xinhua reported Monday citing a statement issued by the UN chief's office.

The UN chief also criticised the attack in Borno state's capital city of Maiduguri where a 10-year-old girl was used to detonate a bomb in a market, in which 20 people were killed.

"The secretary-general utterly condemns this depraved act at the hands of Boko Haram terrorists," the statement issued by Ban's spokesperson Sunday added.

Ban said that the UN stands ready to assist the Nigerian government and all affected neighbouring states in bringing an end to the violence and to alleviate the suffering of civilians with all available means and resources.

Boko Haram militants had laid a siege on the northern part of Nigeria with incessant bomb explosions and killings, forcing residents to flee to other parts of the country.

The group seeks to enshrine the Islamic Sharia law in the constitution of Africa's most populous country.

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the attacks in Borno state have uprooted about 7,300 Nigerians, forcing them into western country of Chad.

Over 10,000 people were killed last year alone in Boko Haram violence, according to the Washington-based Council on Foreign Relations.