Over 13,000 Nigerians Flee Into Cameroon

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugee, UNHCR, report announced on Tuesday, indicated that no fewer than 13,000 Nigerian refugees have fled the country into neighbouring Cameroon due to the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency.

According to the UN refugee agency report, most of the Nigerian refugees crossed from Adamawa state after insurgents attacked and captured the town of Mubi in late October.

The report urged the country to keep its borders open for Nigerian refugees.

It was gathered that the refugees fled to the towns of Guider and Gashiga in the North region of Cameroon and to Bourha, Mogode and Boukoula in the Far North.

Quoting local authorities in Cameroon, the Nigerian refugees were said to have arrived in Cameroon in over 300 vehicles including many personal vehicles, as well as some trucks and rented cars.

However, the report stated that the vast majority of these 13,000 Nigerians have now returned to Nigeria, saying that their final destination was Yola, the capital of Adamawa state, south of Mubi.

Boko-Haram-Armoured-Vehicle

Boko Haram showed off its strength and some of the weaponry, including armoured vehicles. Snapshot from a video: AFP

On the Nigeria side, a UNHCR team confirmed that thousands of Nigerians are now being hosted at Girei in Gombe State and at the National Youth Service Centre in Yola.

It added that UNHCR was also examining claims that some of these refugees may have been forced to return to Nigeria. “We are seeking assurances from both Nigeria and Cameroon that the return of these people was done on a voluntary basis.”

Cameroon is hosting thousands of refugees from Nigeria and the Central African Republic.In other areas in the Far North region that border Nigeria’s Borno state, Cameroonian authorities continue to report regular attempts by insurgents to carry out incursions into Cameroonian territory, frequently launching attacks from their strongholds on the Nigerian side of the border.

Before the latest attacks in Mubi, Cameroonian authorities had confirmed that more than 43,000 Nigerians had sought refuge in Cameroon, of whom close to 17,000 are living at Minawao refugee camp, which is managed by UNHCR and other humanitarian agencies.

Meanwhile in Niger, at least 1,000 people have arrived in the Bosso area, in the south of the country, following the capture by insurgents last week of the garrison town of Malam Fatori.

A group of Nigerian refugees rest in the Cameroon town of Mora after fleeing armed attacks. The Nigerian town is located only a few kilometres from the border with Niger.

The new arrivals in Bosso say that Malam Fatori is now almost empty, as most inhabitants have fled without taking any belongings with them. Children show signs of trauma. At this point, it is difficult to know exactly how many people have arrived in the past few days.

It was gathered that the crisis in the north-east of Nigeria has led to the flight of more than 100,000 people to Niger since May 2013 (both Nigerian refugees and citizens of Niger), according to the local authorities, as well as 2,700 refugees to Chad.

The UN agency report advised the Nigerian and Cameroonian governments to ensure that humanitarian and asylum principles are upheld in light of the ongoing insecure situation in north-eastern Nigeria.