of refugees, comprising women, children and the aged have arrived the Republic
of Niger from Nigeria.
The refugees,
according to an Aljazeera report, are fleeing from intense fighting between the
Nigerian military and Boko Haram in their towns and villages.
The fightings
majorly affect the areas where President Goodluck Jonathan
declared a state of emergency rule on May 14
following the insurgency operations of the armed radical group, Boko Haram,
which has een behind the killings of thousands of civilians across Nigeria over
three years.
‘Most of the
refugees we met were women and children from Borno state in Nigeria, the birth
place of Boko Haram. Borno has seen the most violence caused by the group, and
it is the epicentre of the military campaign crush the group.
“Many of the
refugees fled when they heard gunfire and saw Nigerian fighter jets passing
overhead. They were so frightened, they fled with just the clothes they were
wearing.
“The refugees
are experiencing severe suffering in Bosso (Niger), they told Al Jazeera. They
do not have food to eat or water to drink. Locals in Bosso have done what they
can to help the Nigerians who have arrived. Bosso is a small and poor town,
however, with major food and security issues of its own.
“There is no
accommodation or shelter for people. The streets are littered with Nigerian
refugees -just sitting there, looking lost, looking hopeless. One of them was
Yabawa, a mother of nine. An educated civil servant back home for Abadam local
government in Borno state, she arrived on Tuesday after Boko Haram launched an
attack on Nigerian soldiers in the area, she said. She told us her village was
deserted: everyone fled across the border.
Yabawa was lucky
enough to be given shelter on the compound of one of the local leaders. That
‘shelter’, though, is just a space for her and Her family on the floor,
outside, under the trees. She wants to see an end to Boko Haram, and supports
the military offensive, but she also says it has devastated her life.”
The UN’s refugee
agency says that there are more than “6,000 Nigerian refugees and more are
arriving everyday. Due to the terrain in Niger, they’ve not been able to give
the refugees any humanitarian assistance. The UN says it’s putting together an
emergency humanitarian aid effort to help the refugees. But that could take
weeks.
