Thousands flee Boko Haram attacks around Nigeria's Chibok
Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Some 7,000 people
have fled from villages around the northeast
Nigerian town of Chibok because of Boko
Haram attacks, the International Organization
for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday.
The IOM said an estimated 4,449 people or
740 households have fled to Chibok itself
since February 25, "seeking safety following
attacks or threats of attacks in some
neighbouring villages".
"These movements are in addition to the
estimated 300 people who fled to Chibok
town around February 10," it added in a
briefing document seen by AFP.
"The staff also report that approximately
2,000 individuals fled from Kaya village, near
Chibok town, to (the nearby town of) Damboa
recently, in search of safety."
Boko Haram's Islamist insurgency has left at
least 20,000 people dead in northeast Nigeria
since it began in 2009 and has displaced
more than 2.6 million others.
Chibok became a global symbol of the conflict
after the militants kidnapped more than 200
teenage girls from their school in the town in
April 2014. Most are still being held.
Despite a military fight-back, villages near
Chibok, which is 125 kilometres (80 miles) by
road from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri,
have seen a wave of suspected Boko Haram
attacks.
The region is near the Sambisa Forest, a
former national park where the Islamic State
group affiliate had bases.
On February 9, rebel fighters pushed out of
the area by the army were blamed for looting
food stores in Kaumutaiyahi village, about 15
kilometres from Chibok.
A spokesman for the Chibok community,
Manasseh Allen, said the town was struggling
to accommodate those who had fled in recent
days.
"We don't have the place to settle them,
especially now that schools in the area have
reopened," he said, referring to the use of
schools as temporary camps for the
displaced.
Allen said town leaders had appealed to the
IOM and the Borno state government for tents
to accommodate the new arrivals -- and he
expects more to come.
"The general Sambisa area is still infested
with Boko Haram," he said.
"The misconception is that with the takeover
of Camp Zairo (the group's main base in the
forest), Boko Haram has been defeated.
"There are so many villages from where Boko
Haram fighters have not been cleared."
Allen said the villagers had been told to leave
because of impending military operations in
the area. There was no immediate
confirmation from the army.
Another community leader, Ayuba Alamson,
said the extremists remained in the wider
Chibok district, as well as around Damboa,
which is 40km to the northwest, and Askira
Uba, 25km to the south.
Residents of nearby villages leave their homes
at night in fear of attacks, he added.
Boko Haram attack for food "and they have
taken a huge amount of harvest in the last
two weeks from raids in the Chibok area," he
said.
have fled from villages around the northeast
Nigerian town of Chibok because of Boko
Haram attacks, the International Organization
for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday.
The IOM said an estimated 4,449 people or
740 households have fled to Chibok itself
since February 25, "seeking safety following
attacks or threats of attacks in some
neighbouring villages".
"These movements are in addition to the
estimated 300 people who fled to Chibok
town around February 10," it added in a
briefing document seen by AFP.
"The staff also report that approximately
2,000 individuals fled from Kaya village, near
Chibok town, to (the nearby town of) Damboa
recently, in search of safety."
Boko Haram's Islamist insurgency has left at
least 20,000 people dead in northeast Nigeria
since it began in 2009 and has displaced
more than 2.6 million others.
Chibok became a global symbol of the conflict
after the militants kidnapped more than 200
teenage girls from their school in the town in
April 2014. Most are still being held.
Despite a military fight-back, villages near
Chibok, which is 125 kilometres (80 miles) by
road from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri,
have seen a wave of suspected Boko Haram
attacks.
The region is near the Sambisa Forest, a
former national park where the Islamic State
group affiliate had bases.
On February 9, rebel fighters pushed out of
the area by the army were blamed for looting
food stores in Kaumutaiyahi village, about 15
kilometres from Chibok.
A spokesman for the Chibok community,
Manasseh Allen, said the town was struggling
to accommodate those who had fled in recent
days.
"We don't have the place to settle them,
especially now that schools in the area have
reopened," he said, referring to the use of
schools as temporary camps for the
displaced.
Allen said town leaders had appealed to the
IOM and the Borno state government for tents
to accommodate the new arrivals -- and he
expects more to come.
"The general Sambisa area is still infested
with Boko Haram," he said.
"The misconception is that with the takeover
of Camp Zairo (the group's main base in the
forest), Boko Haram has been defeated.
"There are so many villages from where Boko
Haram fighters have not been cleared."
Allen said the villagers had been told to leave
because of impending military operations in
the area. There was no immediate
confirmation from the army.
Another community leader, Ayuba Alamson,
said the extremists remained in the wider
Chibok district, as well as around Damboa,
which is 40km to the northwest, and Askira
Uba, 25km to the south.
Residents of nearby villages leave their homes
at night in fear of attacks, he added.
Boko Haram attack for food "and they have
taken a huge amount of harvest in the last
two weeks from raids in the Chibok area," he
said.