Chad - Lake Chad: “Worrying humanitarian situation”, warns UN

MISNA
“The communities we met had witnessed indescribable violence. Entire families found themselves in worrying humanitarian situations”, the United Nations Under-Secretary General and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Sahel, Toby Lanzer, said warning of a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Lake Chad basin.

The UN adds that wide insecurity has forced over 41,000 people to flee the islands to settle in more secure zones in the interior territories over the past month. The area has in fact been targeted by numerous attacks by the Nigerian Boko Haram militants. The insecurity has also impacted crops during harvest time, heightening the possible humanitarian consequences.

“The international community should urgently reinforce its humanitarian action, especially for the displaced people in the Lake region who have been affected by the crisis", Lanzer said. Only 35% of the $572 million needed to address the most pressing needs has been made available.