NIAMEY, Feb 20 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply saddened by the reports of the deaths of at least 20 people, among them women and infants, during a stampede for food and cash in Niger’s Diffa region.
The assistance was being distributed independently by visiting Nigerian authorities for Nigerian refugees hosted in the area.
According to Nigerien private television Saraounia, the incident took place at the House of Youth and Culture of Diffa, during a free food distribution held by the governor of the Borno state of Nigeria, Babagana Oumara Zulum, who was visiting Niger.
Most of the victims were women and children, the reports said.
Diffa region is located on the border between southeast Niger and Nigeria.
Since 2015, thousands of Nigerian refugees have fled to Diffa due to repeated terrorist attacks by Boko Haram, which led to the death of hundreds of civilian and military personnel in the two countries.
It is feared that the number of victims could rise as more information on casualties is received from hospitals and health centres in Diffa.
“We are shocked and saddened by these deaths,” said UNHCR’s Representative in Niger, Alessandra Morelli.
“We appreciate all efforts by individuals trying to help refugees but we strongly appeal for these efforts to be coordinated with local authorities in Niger as well as with humanitarian actors.”
UNHCR, which was not involved in Sunday’s distribution, has been providing protection services and assistance to refugees and those internally displaced in south-east Niger and has an aid distribution mechanism in place to ensure that this can be done in a safe and effective manner.
This region, bordering Nigeria’s Borno State, currently hosts 263,000 people who have been displaced by violence in the Lake Chad Basin, of which almost half, some 120,000 are refugees. Refugees are overwhelmingly women and children from Nigeria, with a few thousand arriving recently from Chad.
UNHCR is providing emergency assistance to survivors in the form of medical care and psychosocial support and remains ready to support local authorities in their response to this tragedy.
In Niger and in the Lake Chad Basin, UNHCR leads the international response to protect those forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. It has continuously been advocating for enhanced coordination between humanitarian and development actors in areas hosting forcibly displaced populations. — NNN-AGENCIES
