The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on Tuesday decried the pathetic state of over 4, 000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Dikwa, Borno, and called for immediate interventions to ease their sufferings.

NRC’s Communication Coordinator, Mr Chima Onwe, said in a statement issued in Maiduguri, that the affected persons were taking shelter in the open after fleeing the fighting between the military and Boko Haram insurgents in northern part of the state.

Onwe said that the affected persons had been arriving Dikwa in the past few weeks, a situation which compounded the humanitarian situation in the area.

He noted that aid agencies were overwhelmed as hundreds of displaced people arrived the town on a daily basis from Ngala and Bama local government areas of the state.

“We are extremely concerned by the dire living conditions of families in Dikwa, who have recently fled military operations. Children are sleeping outside with nothing over their heads.

“With the rains now hitting the area, they risk becoming sick with malaria, diarrhea or typhoid.

“Over 600 displaced people are currently being kept in an unused roofless gas station while waiting to be screened by the army.

“Some 4, 000 persons, who are already screened, are being held at a reception centre before being given temporary shelters,” he said, noting that the centre was full, forcing families to sleep outside.

“It is also common to see up to 15 women cramped in a single room while the men sleep outdoors, the coordinator said.

He called on government and humanitarian actors to provide immediate interventions to control the situation.

According to him, the NRC has so far built over 1, 300 temporary homes for the new arrivals, and plans to build more shelters and toilet facilities in the coming weeks.

He added that the organisation had also been providing assistance to over 15, 000 displaced persons in Dikwa since 2017. (NAN)

– Jun. 26, 2018 @ 15:39 GMT |