More than 240,000 people have fled their homes in Niger’s Diffa region have fled their homes since Islamic extremist terror group Boko Haram launched attacks centred on a military position in the area on 3rd June, according to UN agency UNICEF.
At least 24 Nigerien soldiers reportedly died in the attack on the town of Bosso, described as one of the deadliest by the terror group in Niger.
UNICEF’s representative, Viviane Van Steirteghem, said a third of the region’s population has been uprooted since the attacks with many settling along Route Nationale 01, the region’s main road – a decision which has put pressure on water resources there.
In Bosso, women and children make up the majority of people living in displaced person’s sites. Many of the children have been traumatised and some had arrived unaccompanied.
– DAVID ADAMS
