Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria have displaced one million – UN – TRFN

DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – More than one million people may have been forced to leave their homes in northern Nigeria by the five-year-old insurgency of Islamist sect Boko Haram, a United Nations agency said.

The militants’ attacks may force even more people to flee, both internally and to Cameroon, Niger and Chad, which could destabilise the region, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned in a statement on Tuesday.

“We also are concerned with the regional impact of the crisis and potential threats to the peace and security of neighbouring countries, should Boko Haram’s insurgency spread,” said IOM Director of Operations and Emergencies Mohammed Abdiker.

The Sunni Muslim sect, which is trying to carve out an Islamic state in the largely Muslim north of the west African country, has killed thousands since 2009 in what is seen as the biggest security threat to Africa’s top oil producer.

In their most recent major attack earlier this month, the insurgents are thought to have killed hundreds of people in the northern fishing town of Baga, though the death toll is unknown.

The attack forced some 13,000 residents to flee, many of whom have taken shelter on isolated islands in Lake Chad where aid agencies are struggling to reach them. Some of the refugees have drowned trying to escape.

In a separate report on Tuesday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that children are suffering the dire consequences of the conflict in Nigeria, losing their homes, missing out on education and risking their lives.

In northern Cameroon, children make up 60 percent of the 25,000 Nigerian refugees living in Minawao camp, where a recent assessment revealed an alarming rate of malnutrition, UNICEF said.