Nigerians still living in fear of Boko Haram - UNHCR

Security officers are called to control some of the internally displaced people at the Bakkasi camp. The people were upset at camp authorities for what they say is poor distribution of food rations, in Borno, Nigeria, on August 29, 2016.

– UNHCR says the level of fear for Boko Haram among escaped victims is so high in all the places Nigeria has retaken
– UNHCR spokesman says the IDPs are living under very terrible conditions and are always afraid that Boko Haram might return

Contrary to claims by the presidency that Boko Haram insurgents have been totally defeated, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said that the war is not yet over.

According to UNCHR, the group still racks up fear in people in the region who live daily afraid that the dreaded terrorist group might return and attack them again.

Voice of America reports that UNCHR came to its conclusion after “interviewing community leaders and individuals in a number of newly accessible areas of Borno state.”

It quoted UNCHR spokesperson William Spindler as saying that after an assessed of the situation in towns like Monguno, Bama, Damboa and Shani, the UNCHR has seen that the level of fear among the people is still so high for a group that the government said it had defeated.

He said: “They have found similar patterns in these places of a high level of vulnerability among people displaced by Boko Haram with nearly every family affected by very worrying protection issues and that some of these people live in fear that the insurgency group could attack them again.”

Spindler also said the escaped Boko Haram have lived under the brutal rule of the terrorist group for a long time and are having difficulty recovering from the experience.

“They are traumatized,” he said. “They are in need of help. Some of the problems that we see are related to the fact that they do not have the necessary aid or livelihoods. So, that is why we see some of these negative coping mechanisms like survival sex and other practices.”
Meanwhile, some yet to be identified jihadists have killed 22 soldiers, following an attack on a camp in Niger sheltering Malian refugees.
Security officials said on Friday, October 7, that the attack against the camp in Tazalit, in the Tahoua region some 300 kilometres (200 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey, took place in broad daylight on Thursday.

“Some 30 to 40 heavily armed men speaking in Tuareg carried out the attack, killing 22 soldiers,” the official, who asked not to be named, told newsmen.