Boko Haram deepens humanitarian crisis in Niger

A wave of attacks by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria and the islands of Lake Chad has forced tens of thousands across the border to Niger’s arid south-eastern region of Diffa, worsening a dire humanitarian situation.

An estimated 150,000 people have fled to Diffa in the past two years, according to aid agencies, increasing by one-third the population of the remote region that is largely dependent on aid and suffers from perennial food shortages.

In recent weeks, Boko Haram have stepped up suicide attacks and raids on villages in Nigeria and surrounding countries in reprisal for an offensive by regional governments against them this year.

The flood of refugees comes as a state of emergency declared by Niger to tackle the insurgency has brought Diffa’s economy to a standstill, leaving the population vulnerable.