250,000 civilians have fled from Islamist violence since January 2014: Strengthen humanitarian aid!

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) sends an urgent call for more humanitarian aid for the civilian population in north-eastern Nigeria, which is suffering from the ongoing terror of the Islamist Boko Haram sect. "According to official Nigerian statistics, about 250,000 civilians fled to the states of Yobe, Adamawa and Borno since January 2014, due to attacks by Boko Haram," reported Ulrich Delius, the STP's Africa-expert in Göttingen on Thursday. "For fear of new attacks, many refugees decide not to seek protection in camps provided by government institutions or aid agencies, but rather hide out at relatives' or friends' houses. Nevertheless, they desperately need more support, because there is no hope for an imminent end to the violence or for a possibility for them to return to their villages soon."

In the north-east of Nigeria, the aid organizations are facing especially difficult challenges. The escalating violence obstructs their humanitarian work because they fear to be attacked by Boko Haram themselves. Due to the catastrophic security situation, there are only a few humanitarian organizations working in the region – despite the suffering. Moreover, it has become very difficult to provide the needy IDPs with emergency supplies, because they are too scared to register officially.

"The situation of the civilian population in north-eastern Nigeria is tragic," said Delius. "The people are literally crushed between Boko Haram and the counter-violence of the security forces." Some of the villages were already attacked by Boko Haram militants three or four times. Christians and Muslims were killed indiscriminately. Most farmers don't even dare to cultivate their fields, for fear of their lives. In many villages and small towns, the social infrastructure has collapsed completely. Thus, hundreds of schools had to be closed down because the teachers have fled and because it is impossible to hold lessons. Also, 37 percent of the hospitals were forced to close due to the lack of medical personnel. About half of the twelve million inhabitants of the three states are in some way affected by the terror of Boko Haram.

Ulrich Delius, head of STP's Africa department, is available for further questions: Tel. 0551 49906 27 or afrika@gfbv.de.