Around 65,000 people have fled a town in north-east Nigeria that has been attacked several times in recent days by suspected Islamist militants, aid groups say.
All aid operations have been suspended in Damasak – a town near Nigeria’s border with Niger.
“Following the latest attack on Wednesday 14 April, the third in just seven days, up to 80% of the town’s population – which includes the local community and internally displaced people – were forced to flee,” the Reuters news agency quotes Babar Baloch of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) telling a briefing in Geneva.
Local officials said 18 people had been killed in the latest raid.
The attacks were targeted on humanitarian compounds and stocks, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) Norwegian Refugee Council, and Action Against Hunger said in a joint press release.
“NGO staff managed to hide and escape the town, but their private houses were set ablaze after house-to-house searches, demonstrating an unprecedented level of targeting of humanitarian workers,” their statement said.
Thousands of vulnerable families and elderly people were now fleeing across the Yobe River towards Niger for safety, they said.
A video attributed to the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a Boko Haram splinter group, shows gunmen wearing military uniforms shooting from the back of pick-up trucks.
Jihadist fighters stroll casually through the town – behind them buildings are on fire.
During the same week, the Nigerian military has published videos of soldiers in the town.
The army says it is in control and has told people to stay calm.
An extraordinary message at a time when the UNHCR says the majority of Damasak’s population has fled.
“Although humanitarian organisations in north-east Nigeria have faced continuous threats and attacks for years, the worsening security situation has now reached a climax,” Jean-François Riffaud, head of Action Against Hunger, said.
Aid groups estimate that more than eight million people in the north-east are in urgent of humanitarian assistance as a result of the 10-year Islamist insurgency.
With BBC report
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