UNICEF: 3 million people in Niger need urgent aid

ANKARA

Nearly three million people, more than half of them children, in Niger are in need of humanitarian assistance in the West African country, UNICEF said in a statement on Wednesday.

The United Nations Children's Fund also called for increased attention to the plight of children and their families.

"In a context of constrained resources and limited social services, the communities that host displaced populations are showing extraordinary resilience and sharing the little they have.

"This truly is a great example that Nigeriens are showing to world," said Felicite Tchibindat, UNICEF Representative, following his visit to the conflict-affected region of Diffa, alongside national and international partners and friends of Niger.

There has been an increase in terrorist attacks against civilians and the military in recent months in Niger.

Attacks against civilians in the Lake Chad region prevented 263,000 people in Diffa from returning to their homes, according to UNICEF.

Last month, more than 20 soldiers were killed in an attack on a military camp near the border with Mali.

Increasing insecurity along the borders with Burkina Faso and Mali has forced 78,000 people to flee their homes.

The UN agency said the “deteriorating security on the border with Nigeria has also resulted in the movement of tens of thousands of people who have sought refuge in border villages of the Maradi region, in central Niger.”