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updated 10:20 AM UTC, Dec 13, 2023

23,000 Refugees Flee Nigeria Into Niger Over Violence – UNHCR

Unic Press UK: Due to escalating violence in north-western Nigeria, an estimated 23,000 people fled to Niger Republic in April 2020 in the hope of finding a more conducive/safe environment, said The United Nations Refugee Agency.

Speaking during a press briefing today in Geneva, the UNHCR spokesperson, Babar Baloch, said:

Ongoing violence in parts of north-western Nigeria forced an estimated 23,000 people to seek safety and security in Niger last month (April). This takes the total number of refugees fleeing that part of Nigeria to take sanctuary in neighbouring Niger to more than 60,000 since the first influx, in April last year.

Gunmen are unleashing extreme violence – murders, kidnappings for ransom and pillaging and looting of villages – the UNHCR said.

The refugees that fled from Nigeria are mainly women and children, who moved in droves to escape deadly attacks by gunmen in Nigeria’s Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states during the month of April. Several villages in several Local Government Areas were attacked by gunmen.

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