The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says is stepping up efforts to move some 5,000 Nigerian refugees in Cameroon away from the border town of Fotokol amidst ongoing cross border attacks by insurgents.
Refugees fled from the nearby Nigerian town of Gambaru Ngala, which fell under insurgent control earlier this month.
Speaking to reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday September 23 in Geneva, UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming said her commission has already relocated more than 8,600 to the Minawo refugee camp over the past two weeks as cross-border fighting worsened. Some 100 Nigerian refugees continue to cross into Cameroon every day.
“Several incursions into Cameroon have been pushed back by the Cameroonian army, but the security situation remains precarious. On 18 September, insurgents attacked a series of Cameroonian villages located along the border with Nigeria and burnt more than ten churches. This time, villagers were alerted beforehand, and fled before the attackers arrived,” said Fleming.
In Fotokol, she continued, living conditions are dire. “Refugees are living in overcrowded classrooms and in makeshifts shelters constructed with pieces of cloth. They rely on the local authorities and villagers for food. The refugees told our teams that they are living in absolute fear as insurgents launch artillery shells into the town and want to relocate as soon as possible,” she added.
The UN refugee agency noted that the camp's facilities and services need urgent expansion. New arrivals are living in 57 community shelters and classrooms with little or no privacy. The camp's only health post is overwhelmed, as most of refugees transferred to Minawao are sick.
There is a high prevalence of respiratory infections among children due to exposure to wind and cold during the time spent in the open at the border.
“We are increasingly concerned about children arriving malnourished. Rapid nutritional screening involving 2,189 children from 6 to 59 months old revealed that 3.1% of them suffered from severely acute malnutrition, and up to 4.3% suffered from moderate acute malnutrition,” Fleming disclosed.
Since the beginning of the crisis in Nigeria, local authorities in Cameroon have reported the arrival of 43,720 Nigerian refugees, including 26,720 who have been registered by UNHCR.
The crisis in north eastern Nigeria has also displaced some 70,000 people to neighbouring Niger, according to authorities, and some 1,600 to Chad. An estimated 650,000 people are internally displaced in northeastern Nigeria due to the insurgency.
