Boko H. force 9000 NGA'ns into CMR in 10 days

Recent attacks by insurgent groups in the north east of Nigeria have caused thousands of Nigerians to find refuge in Cameroon in the past 10 days, with some new arrivals sleeping on the ground in schools and churches with children suffering poor health, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said.

Speaking at a press briefing Tuesday, September 2, UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards, said his organisation is very concerned that even after the Nigerians have crossed into Cameroon, they are still being pursued by insurgents. He disclosed that they have already started to relocate some of the refugees to a refugee camp where they can access safer conditions.

According to Cameroonian authorities, in the last ten days at least 9,000 people have arrived in Cameroon's Far North Region, more than 2,000 sought refuge in Niger, and more people continue to arrive, Edwards told journalists. The new arrivals fled recurrent attacks in the past three weeks in the Gwoza area in Nigeria's Borno State, before reaching safety in Cameroon.

Authorities report that 5,500 refugees have arrived in Kolofata, 3,000 in Kerawa and 370 in Mora, in the Mayo Sava and Logone-et-Chari districts. “However, even upon arrival in Cameroon, they are not necessarily out of harm's way. On Sunday, insurgents attacked Kerawa town inside Cameroon, forcing refugees and some local residents to flee further inland,” Edwards regretted.

On Monday, UNHCR started to relocate 80 of the new refugees, mainly women and children, from Koza to the refugee camp of Minawao, some 120 kilometers from the border. The camp is already hosting some 6,000 Nigerian refugees who were transferred from the border earlier in 2013 and 2014. In early August, relocation to the camp had been suspended due to insecurity.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees said beginning Tuesday, they started the relocation of refugees from Mora and Kolofata to the camp. The total number of Nigerian refugees in Cameroon now stands at some 39,000 according to local authorities, including 19,633 who have been registered by UNHCR.

In addition, more than 2,000 Nigerians fled last week to the Lake Chad islands in Niger, fleeing attacks in Nigeria Borno State. Niger is already hosting more than 50,000 forced fully displaced from Nigeria who have arrived in the country since May 2013; 1,500 have found refuge in Chad. Inside Nigeria, some 645,000 people are displaced in Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe States, as a result of the violence.

The UN refugee agency said their teams have had limited access to the border areas these past weeks because of the increasing insecurity. “Despite the volatile situation, we were able to go to Mora over the week end, where we met the new arrivals living in churches and schools and with host families. The refugees told our teams that everyone had fled and that their villages in north east Nigeria are now empty. Immediate assistance has been provided by the authorities, NGO Caritas, UNHCR and the host community,” Edwards disclosed.

On Sunday, some teams reached the Cameroonian border village of Koza and met with some refugee women. They told UNHCR that when their homes were attacked some days ago in Gokou, in Nigeria's Borno State, their husbands had sent them with their children to hide in the surrounding mountains.

They later saw heavy smoke coming from their village, which made them fear insurgents had burnt their homes. They waited until night time and had to walk some 30 kilometers to reach Koza. They have had no news of their husbands.