Niger’s authorities say it has registered more than 36,000 new refugees over four months, reports said on Thursday.
Tens of thousands of new refugees have arrived in Niger over the past four months, fleeing attacks by armed groups in neighboring countries. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is concerned about this increase in refugees, as attacks on civilians intensify in frequency and violence.
From January to mid-April 2022, Niger recorded more than 36,000 new arrivals from Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso, an average of more than 2,500 new refugees per week.
“I fear that we will have regular influxes into Niger as long as there is unrest in neighboring countries,” said Emmanuel Gignac, UNHCR representative in Niger. “It is imperative that we, as UNHCR, and our partners develop and maintain a very strong emergency response capacity,” he added.
The new refugees from Mali are fleeing fighting between the Islamic State in the Great Sahara (EIGS) and the Movement for the Salvation of Azawad (MSA) in the regions of Gao and Menaka. Nigerian refugees were fleeing increased looting, expropriation of property, attacks, and kidnappings by armed bandits in Katsina and Sokoto States in the northwest of their country. In addition, persistent and widespread insecurity caused many to leave Burkina Faso.
The refugees, who are mostly women and children, need shelter, food and water, non-food items, and access to basic services such as health care and education.
“While we remain committed to providing life-saving assistance and working closely with local authorities and host communities on the front lines of the response, stabilization and development interventions need to start earlier and faster. As humanitarian actors, we are reaching our limits,” Gignac concluded.
TE/odl/fss/abj/APA