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Nigeria Situation: UNHCR Regional Update (1 - 31 August 2018)

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SECURITY AND OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Security Highlights:

  • In August, Nigeria witnessed an upsurge in Boko Haram attacks in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States – resulting in more than 200 security incidents. Over 125 people were reportedly killed in the attacks.
    Consequently, widespread attacks, counter-insurgency activities as well as impassable roads impeded access to people in need of assistance, especially in not-easy-to-reach areas.

  • In Cameroon, Boko Haram continued its campaign of terror by raiding villages, looting property, cattle rustling, kidnapping and killing of civilians. In the Far North, an increase in attacks at the beginning of the month later dropped significantly as a result of counter-insurgency offensives by the Cameroonian defence forces which pushed back infiltrations from across the border.

  • In Niger, insecurity persisted in the Diffa region, forcing civilians to flee for their lives. Crime, banditry, kidnapping and murders have increased fear among the populations.

  • In Chad, the Government deployed its military in the areas that suffered deadly attacks at the end of July. During their counter-offensive operations on 20 August, government forces were ambushed in the Chukudum area, reportedly killing one soldier and two were captured by Boko Haram insurgents.

Operational Highlights:

  • On 2 August, UNHCR expressed its shock over the deaths of six Nigerian asylum-seekers, among them three children, in Cameroon. The victims were being forcibly returned to Banki, Nigeria, in a Cameroonian army truck which drove over an improvised explosive device that exploded. Six other asylum-seekers were among the injured. Refoulement has continued to take place despite numerous appeals by UNHCR to the Government of Cameroon to respect its obligations. Over 800 Nigerian refugees and asylumseekers in Cameroon have been forcibly returned to Nigeria since the beginning of 2018.

  • In Chad, 296 children (132 refugee children born in Chad and 164 children of Chadian parents) received birth certificates. Justice Peace Baga Sola, in collaboration with the Directorate of Political Affairs and Civil Status (DAPEC), issued the certificates using a mobile court from 30 July – 01 August in Tchoukoutalia, sub-prefecture Ngouboua.

  • Nigeria featured at the Oslo II high-level international donor conference on the Lake Chad Basin that took place on 3 - 4 September 2018 in Berlin, Germany. Among the achievements, and by the end of July 2018, the Protection Sector reported to have reached 1,647,005 individuals living in the most affected north-eastern states. This figure represents 61% of the 2.7 million individuals targeted in the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). UNHCR and partners appealed for USD $1.05 billion to meet the funding gap of the 6.1 million persons in need of assistance.