Among the 40 000 Nigerian women, men and children who originally fled the city of Rann following deadly attacks in December 2018 and January 2019, at least 10 000 people are reportedly returning to Borno state, North East Nigeria. Action against Hunger recalls that the conditions today are not met to allow the safe return of the refugees in the city of Rann.
In North East Nigeria, civilians are paying a heavy price of the conflict, resulted in broad and forced displacement of population. Since December 2018, the city of Rann has been attacked at least four times by non-state armed groups. According to the OCHA latest report, clinics and humanitarian facilities were targeted, looted or destroyed.
« International and national humanitarian organization have not been able to return to Rann to provide humanitarian assistance due to ongoing insecurity since 17 January 2019. In these conditions, it is difficult to imagine a safe return of the refugees who are in need of vital assistance » commented Shashwat Saraf, Country Director of Action against Hunger in Nigeria.
People who fled the city of Rann are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including shelter, food and safe water. In January the nutritional assessment carried out by Action against Hunger among the people fleeing the city of Rann and taking refuge in the vicinity of Goura, in Cameroon, have shown severe acute malnutrition rate exceeding twice the emergency threshold for the children under five years old.
Action against Hunger works in Nigeria and Cameroon to meet the urgent needs of people affected by the conflict and depend upon humanitarian aid for survival. The recent developments show that the needs are still huge and the situation is far from resolving.