by Staff writer
The United Nations has warned that northern Nigeria faces the “largest crisis in Africa” as the government’s war with Boko Haram has become increasingly bogged down.
In northern Borno state, the epicentre of a conflict that has spread to three neighbouring countries – Chad, Cameroon and Niger – Nigeria’s army has unleashed a barrage of air and land assaults.
The counterinsurgency has clawed back some territory, but Boko Haram has responded by stepping up guerrilla tactics, ambushing troops and attacking civilians.
In late November, Major General Leo Irbor hailed his men’s success in freeing “more than 5,200 people” in a month.
But the high number of people freed highlighted Boko Haram’s capacity to capture and hold vast, heavily populated areas.
Villagers under siege are typically forced to abandon their crops, devastating local food supplies. Those who escape Boko Haram are generally transported by the army to camps where basic supplies are also desperately scarce.
The UN estimates that 14 million people will need outside help in 2017, particularly in Borno State, after seven years of conflict that has killed at least 20,000 people and left 2.6 million homeless.
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Source: Aljazeera News
