Humanitarian crisis in North-East worsening, says Red Cross

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The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that it was worried over the worsening humanitarian situation in the North-East, saying 55,000 people had been displaced in the last two months.


The ICRC said the latest in the series of insurgency attacks had caused the largest wave of displacement in the North-East since 2017.

The Red Cross noted that Maiduguri in Borno State already hosts more than one million Internally Displaced Persons in 14 camps as well as some host communities.

In a statement on Monday, the Red Cross lamented that the existing IDP camps could not cope with the sudden influx and the authorities were in the process of opening a new IDP camp.

“Thousands of families caught in between the fighting have had to flee for their lives. Parents with their children, taking the little they could, escaped into the bush and slept in the open air. Some managed to reach places – camps – where they can receive some assistance, but what about the others?

“We are extremely concerned by the worsening humanitarian situation in north-eastern Nigeria. Civilians should be spared by all parties to the conflict, as per international humanitarian law,” said the Head of ICRC in Borno State, Markus Dolder, in the statement.


The Red Cross further noted, “A health facility in Rann and shelters for the IDPs were burnt down a few days ago, the latest in a series of attacks in the North-East that have caused the largest wave of displacement since 2017. The burnt-down health facility was where two ICRC midwives who were killed in captivity last year once worked.

“Reportedly, 55,000 people have been displaced in the last two months, over 30,000 of who arrived in Borno State’s capital, Maiduguri. Maiduguri already hosts more than one million IDPs in 14 camps as well as host communities. Because the existing camps cannot cope with the sudden influx, the authorities are in the process of opening a new IDP camp.

“The ICRC has launched an emergency response in Maiduguri in collaboration with other humanitarian actors and the authorities. The building of temporary shelters for 1,500 households is underway, the distribution of essential household items and a one-off cash support for all new arrivals, scattered in the various IDP camps, have started.”