Nigerians flee into Cameroon to escape violence

Thousands of refugees have been fleeing into Cameroon to escape a wave of violence in northeast Nigeria which has seen frequent attacks by armed groups.

Since May up to 8,000 Nigerian’s from states such as Adamawa, Yobe and Borno have left everything behind to travel into the remote northeastern region of Cameroon.

The UN World Food Programme is providing humanitarian assistance to those in need as they flee over the border.

Speaking from Cameroon WFP’s Martin Penner told Vatican Radio that the refugees are in dire need of food and other assistance.

“These people have come a long way, I mean they’re traumatized because they are fleeing a situation in which they’ve seen their homes burned, they’ve experience violence either themselves our they’re families have… in fact in a survey that we did recently we found high rates of malnutrition in come of the children that have come over” (into Cameroon).

As the volatile security situation continues Mr Penner adds that WFP and its humanitarian partners expect to see a rise in the number of refugees arriving from Nigeria and other neighbouring countries stricken by conflict.

“Just since the beginning of this year one hundred thousand refugees have come over from the Central African Republic and we expect the number to rise to about a hundred a eighty thousand by the end of this year.”

Apart from providing food assistance WFP has also provided health services to those arriving with severe malnutrition.