35,000 displaced Nigerians flee to Cameroon, says UN
Admin I Friday, Feb., 01, 2019
BORNO, Nigeria – Not less than 35,000 Nigerians have fled from Nigeria into neighbouring Cameroon in the last one week, the United Nations has said. According to the UN, continuous onslaught by the radical sect Boko Haram in Rann, Borno and other surrounding villages is forcing Nigerians to run from their fatherland.
The sect has been active in the north-east Nigeria for over a decade, with thousands already executed. “The livelihoods of tens of thousands of others have been destroyed in the insurgency, as regional governments struggle to put an end to the ongoing violence”, the UN reported.
Hebibi Toudjum presently lives in the village of Goura, north-east of Cameroon, after fleeing from Rann. The UN reported that she walked 7km across the border in Nigeria six days ago when the sect embarked on killing spree.
“They came and killed many people and set the town alight . Everyone was scared, so we came here where it is safe,” she said. Hebibi Toudjum is one of around 35,000 people who have fled Rann in the last two weeks after Boko Haram extremist fighters, repeatedly attacked the town.
She and thousands of others fled following withdrawal of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) which came to secure the city after an attack on January 14. The MNJTF was set up by the affected countries – Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, Niger and Benin – to counter Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups which are gaining ground across the Lake Chad region.
“When the military left,” said Kellou Maloum Modu, “we had no other possibility but to leave. My own brother died. I pray that God will keep Boko Haram away from me and my family,” she told UN news.
