6,000 Flee Boko Haram Crisis To Niger – UN

No fewer than 6,000 people ,mostly women, children and elderly,
displaced following the military onslaught againstmembers of Islamist
militant sects, Boko Haram and the al Qaeda-linked Ansaru, have fled
to neighbouring NigerRepublic.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, also known as the
UN Refugee Agency, made this known in a report it presented in New
York, United States on Tuesday by its spokesperson, Mr Adrian Edwards.
Edwards said, "Those who spoke to UNHCR say they escaped for fear of
being caught in the government-led crackdown," Reuters quoted him as
saying. He added that the presence of the Nigerians refugees in Niger
was"putting a strain on meager local food and water resources" on the
country which "struggles with food insecurity due to years of
drought."
According to him, the "refugees are either renting houses or staying
with host families, who are themselves livingin very precarious
conditions."
Edward stated that UNHCR member of staff, who visited several border
villageshosting the refugees met some Nigerianfamilies living out in
the open and some under trees.
Disclosing that the agency would help the Nigerien authorities to
register the refugees, he said further that there wereplans to deliver
some relief to the refugees and their host communities.
He said that 240 others, comprising Niger nationals and people of
other nationalities, also fled from Nigeria to Niger while some ran to
Cameroon and Chad in the past few weeks. The two countries also share
common boundaries with Nigeria.
The report also stated that the Nigerian"refugees reported that air
strikes by government forces are continuing from time to time, and
that planes are regularly flying over the states of Borno,Yobe and
Adamawa where a state of emergency has been in force since May 14."
It added, "People arriving in Niger also mentioned the increasing
presence of roving armed bandits in several states inNigeria. The
people also spoke of rising commodity prices coupled with pre-existing
food insecurity which is also becoming a major concern for the
populations of the affected states."
Nigerian forces are engaged in a four- week-old operation to regain
territory from fighters loyal to Boko Haram. The soldiers claim that
they had destroyed key Boko Haram bases and arrested more than 150
suspected insurgents in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
The military was not immediately available for comment, but in a
statement on FridayDefence Headquarters Spokesman, Brig -Gen. Chris
Olukolade, denied a report that Nigerian refugees were "pouring into"
Niger.
This was even as the National Emergency Management Agency said it was
responding to the humanitarian needs of the displaced Nigerians in
Niger Republic to to alleviate their conditions.
It said the basic needs were identified by a special assessment
carried out by its team that was dispatched to the Niger Republic to
ascertain the conditions of Nigerians that had crossedover the border
into the country.