Tens of thousands of residents of Borno State have fled their homes – thousands of them into neighbouring Niger and Cameroon – following airstrikes since May 15.
The attacks on Boko Haram camps in northern parts of Borno close to the borders with Chad, Niger and Cameroon followed the May 14 declaration of a state of emergency by President Goodluck Jonathan in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
Musa Karimbe fled his village of Bulabute near Marte, Boko Haram’s major stronghold in the area, on May 17 to Kusiri, 100km inside Cameroon where he is staying with a friend. “We are afraid of a repeat of Baga attacks on our homes,” Karimbe said, referring to fighting on April 16 and 17 between troops from the Chad-Niger-Nigeria Joint Multi-National Task Force and Boko Haram members in which 187 residents from Baga town on the shores of Lake Chad were reported killed, and 2,128 homes believed to have been burnt, according to Human Rights Watch.
People from villages around Abadam District, including Malamfatori, fled to Bosso in Niger’s Diffa Region. Others have taken refuge in the Cameroonian towns of Fotokol, Amchide, Darak and Kusiri, according to interviews with displaced Nigerians. Officials claim that 2,000 people have fled across borders, though several of the displaced said they thought the number was higher.
The number of casualties from the fighting is not yet clear, though Defence spokesman Brig.-Gen. Chris Olukolade said last week there had been casualties and that 100 sect members had been arrested.
An official of the Nigerian Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in Abuja said they had not yet been able to establish contact with their teams to find out the details of the humanitarian situation, because telephone networks in Borno and Yobe states have been shut down since May 16. “The areas where military operations are ongoing are not accessible,” he said.
Residents of Gamboru Ngala in Borno State said military forces screened them thoroughly before allowing them to cross the border; others passed through the network of unofficial trade routes that criss-cross the region.
Before the military operation, Boko Haram has, since January, has taken control of Marte, Mobbar, Gubio, Guzamala, Abadam, Kukawa, Kala-Balge and Gamboru Ngala local government areas in northern Borno, chasing out local government officials, taking over control of government buildings and imposing Sharia law.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was providing assistance to about 2,400 people who have fled violence and relocated to Niger Republic.
The ICRC said it was stationed in southeastern Niger to help the hundreds of families who left their homes in northern Nigeria.
ICRC Regional Director Jean-Nicolas Marti said displaced families had enough emergency food supplies to last about a month.
“These people, most of whom are originally from Niger but settled in Nigeria some time back, in some cases decades ago, are completely destitute,” he said in a statement. “Their situation is very precarious, and they urgently need help.”
The United Nations urged Nigerian authorities to show restraint during the offensive. At least 200 people died and more than 2,000 homes were destroyed in a recent military raid seen as a response to a Boko Haram attack on area police.
