Chairman of the African Union Commission Mahmoud Ali Youssouf. (Photo by Reuters)

The African Union Commission (AUC) chairman has called for a stop to the "suffering" and "extermination" of Palestinians in West Asia.

Speaking at the opening of the 39th African Union Summit on Saturday, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said that the Palestinian people are appealing to consciences that their sufferings must be stopped.

He emphasized that the extermination of Palestinians must stop. "In [West Asia], Palestine and the suffering of its people also challenge our consciences. The extermination of this people must stop."

The Gaza Ministry of Health has announced that 72,037 Palestinians have been killed and 171,666 injured in Israel`s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, noting that thousands more remain trapped under rubble because ambulance and civil defense teams cannot reach them, underscoring the vast and still-unfolding scale of the catastrophe.

Youssouf, who was elected from Djibouti to head the institution a year ago, noted that people were paying the heavy price of instability due to lack of security in the region.

"From Sudan to the Sahel, to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in Somalia and elsewhere, our people continue to pay the heavy price of instability," he said.

The 2-day ordinary session of the assembly of heads of state and government of the African Union (AU) is being held in the Ethiopian capital city, Addis Ababa.

The Addis Ababa summit, themed "Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063," will focus on strengthening continental commitments to sustainable water management, improved sanitation, and broader development goals outlined in the AU`s Agenda 2063 blueprint.