B/Haram: Over 27,000 civilians killed in 10 years - UN

Boko Haram terrorists have killed over 27,000 civilians since 2009 when the conflict in Nigeria’s northeast started, United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr Edward Kallon has said.

He made this disclosure while speaking yesterday at the UN building in Abuja at an event to mark 10 years since the crisis erupted in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

While lamenting that the conflict had raged on for a decade, Mr Kallon said the attacks in Nganzai last weekend, where more than 65 civilians were killed, was one of the deadliest in recent years.

He stressed that the attack was a “stark reminder that the conflict is still actively raging in the states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe and “the subsequent humanitarian crisis is far from over.”

Kallon who expressed condolences to the families of aid workers, who had lost their lives in the Northeast and other states, said their memories will continue to live on in the hearts of all humanitarian aid workers.

While assuring that the humanitarian community will continue to do their best to come to the rescue of the displaced, he noted that the only solution to the crisis in the Northeast was peace.

On her part, the Head of Office, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), Edem Wosornu, who regretted the loss suffered in the conflicts so far, assured that the UN will continue to do its part in alleviating the suffering of those affected.