By Jutha Gupah, Maiduguri
The United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, has expressed concern over an upsurge in violence in Northeast region. According to him, the Boko Haram resurgence; has caused tens of thousands of civilians to flee their attacked communities. Kallon in a statement of OCHA’s Head of Communication, Samantha Newport released Wednesday in Maiduguri; said the December 26, 2018 between troops and non-state armed groups in Baga town triggered massive displacement of people. He said the displacement, has led to converging of women and children at congested camps or sites with most women, men and children converging on already congested camps for displaced persons in Maiduguri or Monguno. He disclosed that the recent attempted attacks on Monguno has exacerbated the security situations with the displacement of over 58, 000 people. “The impact of the recent fighting on innocent civilians is devastating and has created a humanitarian tragedy,” said Kallon, after yesterday’s a visit to Monguno town and Teachers Village IDPs camp in Maiduguri. Continuing, he added: “It is heart-wrenching to see so many of these people living in congested camps, or sleeping outside with no shelter.” Civilians, according to him; continue to bear the brunt of conflict; and United Nations is extremely concerned about impacts of violence in Borno state. Meanwhile, over 30,000 internally displaced persons have arrived in Maiduguri, mainly from Baga, in the last two weeks. He said the people had arrived since December 20, 2018, after arduous journeys with young children. He said there is an estimated 20,000 IDPs that arrived in Teachers Village camp in Maiduguri, stretching the camp’s capacity beyond limit. Kallon noted that tens of thousands of people are in need of humanitarian assistance, including shelter, food, water and sanitation. He said about 260 aid workers have been withdrawn from three Local Government Areas of Monguno, Kala/Balge and Kukawa (Monguno, because of the ongoing conflicts. According to him, the conflict has affecting the delivery of humanitarian assistance to hundreds of thousands of people. “This is the largest withdrawal of aid workers since international humanitarian response was scaled up in 2016,” he lamented, warning that lack of a secure operating environment has prevented a return to humanitarian activities.
