100 Nigerian refugees enter Cameroon daily - UN

A concern raised by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was that, one hundred Nigerian refugees flock to the Minawao camp in Cameroon every day.

"In the Far North region of Cameroon, a constant flow of Nigerian refugees leave the unstable border area between Nigeria and Cameroon to seek refuge a hundred kilometers inside the camp in Cameroon Minawao," explained Leo Dobbs, a spokesman of UNHCR to a media in Geneva.

About 100 people are registered every day in this camp which is managed by UNHCR and its partners.

“The majority of Nigerians who sought refuge in Cameroon, near the border with Nigeria, having fled the fight between the Nigerian army and Islamist rebels Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria. They had decided to stay near the border in the hope of returning home soon,” said Mr. Dobbs.

But the violence and attacks continues in north-eastern part of Nigeria and Cameroon, forcing the refugees to move once again.
The population of Minawao camp now stands at about 44,000 against some 30,000 last year in the same period.

UNHCR said that its employees and those of the Cameroonian government are working on meeting the refugees who are still close to the Nigerian border so they decide where they want to go; either the Minawao camp or in safe areas in Nigeria.

This process will continue in the coming weeks.

UNHCR estimated that nearly 12,000 non-registered refugees are in northern Cameroon. According to the Cameroonian authorities, they would be 17,000.

Cameroon suffered its first suicide attack at Fotokol, Far North by two female suicide bombers, wearing a full veil, on Sunday. Eleven people were killed.