from AHMED OBAFEMI in Maiduguri, Nigeria
MAIDUGURI, (CAJ News) – TERROR attacks by Boko Haram factions over the weekend have left over 80 000 citizens vulnerable in northeast Nigeria.
The non-state armed groups directly targeted and set ablaze three international aid partners’ facilities in the town of Damasak in Borno State.
Two soldiers and two civilians were reportedly killed. An ambulance and military vehicles were among items reported stolen.
Humanitarian operations in the area will be reduced due to the violent attack, which will affect the support to 8 800 internally displaced people and 76 000 people in the host community receiving humanitarian assistance and protection there.
Edward Kallon, the humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, lamented the recurrent violent attacks first reported on Saturday night.
“I continue to be concerned about the safety and security of civilians and humanitarian workers,” the envoy said.
He said civilians and aid workers, their facilities and assets should never be a target.
“They must always be protected and respected,” Kallon said.
He appealed to donors to urgently continue their support for the humanitarian response plan for north-east Nigeria in order to provide lifesaving and life sustaining support to some 6,4 million displaced people and host communities affected by the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Boko Haram, the terror group, has perpetrated the catastrophe since 2009 in an attempt to establish an Islamist state in the country of over 200 million, the biggest population in Africa.
Attacks have spilled to the neighouring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
– CAJ News