Nigeria: Nearly 200 Refugees Starved to Death

MSF says, " a catastrophic humanitarian emergency," is unfolding at a camp in Bama, where 24,000 people have taken refuge.

Nearly 200 refugees fleeing Boko haram militants have starved to death over the past month in Bama, Nigeria, the medical charity MSF says on Wednesday.

 

The doctors referred 16 emaciated children at risk of dying to their special feeding centre in Maiduguri. One in five of the 15,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition, MSF says.

Many inhabitants who have witnessed and survived the many horrors are traumatized, MSF says.

MSF reached Bama on Tuesday followed the military convoy from Maiduguri, capital of Borno state, which is the headquaters of the Nigeria's military campaign.

Although Bama is only about 70km south-east of Maiduguri, the ongoing clashes between the rebels and government forces have made the trip becomes unsafe and farmers are not plant crops for 18 months, Dr.Christopher Mampula of MSF explains by phone from Paris.

"This is the first time MSF has been able to access Bama, but we already know the people needs there are beyond critical," said Ghada Hatim, MSF head of misssion in Nigeria.

Boko Haram fighters routinely burned down houses and destroyed wells, leaving a tiny fraction of the water source in an area where temperatures often soar above 40 degrees.

The Islamist group's seven-year rebellion has left 20,000 people dead and more than two million displaced.

Nigerian military has carried out a large-scale offensive against them, but Boko Haram still attacks villages in the north-east.

Boko Haram also carried out the attack on the border of Nigeria, such as in Chad, Niger and Cameroon.



source:
BBC News