The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has raised another alarm over the escalation of conflict in the North-east, saying thousands of families caught in between fighting have had to flee for their lives.
A statement by head of ICRC’s office in Maiduguri Markus Dolder on Monday in Abuja said health facilities in Rann and shelters for internally displaced persons were burnt down a few days ago.
“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?” he said
He said further that the burned-down health facility was where two ICRC midwives who were killed in captivity last year once worked.
“We are extremely concerned by the worsening humanitarian situation in north-east Nigeria. Civilians should be spared by all parties to the conflict, as per international humanitarian law.
“Reportedly, 55,000 people have been displaced in the last two months, over 30,000 of whom arrived in Borno’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,” Dolder said.
According to him: “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 under way, the distribution of essential household items and one-off cash support for all new arrivals, scattered in the various IDP camps, have started.”
