Suicide blasts rock migrant camps in Nigeria, three killed

Kano (Nigeria) March 22: At least four suicide bomb blasts rocked a camp for migrants fleeing Boko Haram insurgents in restive northeastern Nigeria on Wednesday, killing at least three people and wounding 20, officials said.

The blasts triggered fires which burned down tents in the vast Muna camp on the outskirts of the city of Maiduguri, camp coordinator Tijjani Lumani said. “There were four explosions inside the camp. The bombers struck at different locations around 4:30 am.”

The emergency services put the number of bombings at five. “A total of five suicide bombers, all male adults, were involved in the incidents, killing three persons,” Abdulkadir Ibrahim of the National Emergency Management Agency in the region said. He said 20 people were wounded and taken to hospital. Muna camp is home to tens of thousands of people who have fled the Boko Haram insurgency.

The Islamist group has continued to target the internally displaced people (IDPs) and there have been several attempted suicide bomb attacks near the Muna camp, which is not fenced off and is easily accessible.

Aid workers said last week that the camp residents are facing a severe lack of water, compounding widespread food shortages and security fears.

“The camp is vulnerable and this worries everyone of us in the camp which is the last settlement on the outskirts of the city from the north,” said Lumani.