The United Nations has accused the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram of “almost unimaginable” violence and brutality in Nigeria.
Stephen O’Brien, its global humanitarian co-ordinator, said the militant group’s actions had forced millions to flee, and that more than nine million people in the Lake Chad region need humanitarian assistance.
He told the Security Council that Nigeria, bearing “the brunt of the crisis”, accounts for seven of the nine million people in need.
He said Boko Haram’s “heinous, barbaric and unconscionable” violence had led to serious human rights violations in the country.
“From January to June 2016, more than 50 children have been coerced to carry out suicide bombings across the four countries [Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon]” he said.
The seven year rebellion by the Islamist group has left 20,000 people dead and 2.8 million displaced. UNICEF warned last week that almost 250,000 children in parts of Nigeria’s Borno state, formerly controlled by Boko Haram, suffer from severe malnutrition. Other neighbouring states like Adamawa and Yobe are also affected.
However, Christians – who’ve paid a heavy price in the violence – “face discrimination in Internal Displacement camps”, Fr Maurice Kweirang, in charge of St. Theresa Church’s IDP camp in Yola, in Adamawa told World Watch Monitor. He also told us that local corruption means aid is not reaching those in need.
Source: IBT