Intensifying Nigeria unrest sends 7,300 fleeing to Chad, says UN
10 Jan 2015 1:56 AM GMT
Members of the armed Islamist movement on Saturday captured the town of Baga in Borno state.
The town lies close to Lake Chad, where the borders of Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon converge, and the town has been attacked by the group before. Boko Haram went on to destroy at least 16 towns and villages on Wednesday in the remote north of Borno state.
“In western Chad, some 7,300 Nigerian refugees have arrived in the past 10 days, fleeing attacks by insurgents on Baga town and surrounding villages,” Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said.
“With the recent influxes, Chad is now hosting over 10,000 refugees,” Edwards said, adding that the
government has requested assistance from aid agencies. Chadian authorities has asked UNHCR to help relocate more than 1,000 refugees reportedly stranded on an island in Lake Chad, he added.
The town lies close to Lake Chad, where the borders of Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon converge, and the town has been attacked by the group before. Boko Haram went on to destroy at least 16 towns and villages on Wednesday in the remote north of Borno state.
“In western Chad, some 7,300 Nigerian refugees have arrived in the past 10 days, fleeing attacks by insurgents on Baga town and surrounding villages,” Adrian Edwards, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said.
“With the recent influxes, Chad is now hosting over 10,000 refugees,” Edwards said, adding that the
government has requested assistance from aid agencies. Chadian authorities has asked UNHCR to help relocate more than 1,000 refugees reportedly stranded on an island in Lake Chad, he added.
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