Boko Haram carried out 60 suicide attacks in 2017

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February 27, 2018 12:17 PM

The UN deputy relief chief stated said this on her arrival in Chad for a two-day visit to see first-hand the humanitarian situation in the country.

Boko Haram carried out 60 suicide attacks in Cameroon in 2017, UN Assistant-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ms Ursula Mueller has said.

Mueller would assess efforts of the humanitarian community to respond in a context of chronic underfunding, multiple humanitarian crises and development challenges in the country.

She said that Cameroon was the country most impacted by the regional extension of the Boko Haram conflict.

“In 2017, there were more than 60 suicide attacks in the Far North representing a 50 per cent increase compared to 2016.

“Some 3.3 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance. In the Far North, one out of every three people is facing crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity.

“But Cameroon’s Humanitarian Response Plan has only received five per cent of the U.S. 305 million dollars required to respond to the most urgent humanitarian needs,’’ she said.

Mueller is expected to meet with Chadian authorities, humanitarian and development partners as well as impacted populations.

She would visit the Lac region on Saturday to see for herself the humanitarian consequences of the Lake Chad Basin crisis in Chad.

Her visit aims to generate greater international visibility and donour support for humanitarian needs in Chad.

According to her, a third of the population or 4.4 million people need humanitarian assistance in 2018.

Before travelling to Chad, Mueller wrapped up her visit to Cameroon where she called on the international community and the government to step up support for humanitarian action in the country.

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