The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News | UNHCR , UNITED NATIONS
UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing: Attack on Niger UNHCR 15 December 2020
UN Refugee Agency condemns attack on Toumour, a town in south-east Niger
In a four-hour attack on December 12th, claimed by Boko Haram, assailants destroyed much of the town of Toumour in Niger, in the vicinity of the border with Nigeria. The attackers killed at least 28 people, burned the market to the ground, and slaughtered more than a thousand cattle, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), who vigorously condemned the attack.
“UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, condemns an attack by armed assailants on Toumour, a town in south-east Niger, that killed 28 people and injured hundreds more,” said Babar Baloch, a spokesperson UNHCR at a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva. He added that “UNHCR is gravely concerned for the safety of over 30,000 refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) who have been sheltering in Toumour”.
Toumour, a town located in the south-east of Niger, 14 kilometers from neighbouring Nigeria, hosts 20,000 Nigerian refugees, more than 8,300 IDP’s, and 3,600 returnees – all in need of humanitarian assistance.
“As of Monday morning, 14 December, our teams and partners reported that people were on the move from Toumour toward Diffa, a town some 100 kilometres away”, the UNHCR spokesperson said.
“This town is already host to 46,000 refugees, asylum seekers, displaced people, including returnees. Together with humanitarian partners and local authorities, we are organizing emergency shelter, food, water, and health support to the affected communities,” Baloch said.
UNHCR and its partners are currently providing protection and humanitarian aid to more than 265,000 forcibly displaced people including nearly 130,000 Nigerian refugees and asylum seekers, 102,726 internally displaced Nigeriens, and 34,324 returnees in the Diffa region.
The COVID-19 pandemic, so UNHCR, further complicates the response as most of the displaced are sheltering in crowded urban areas where social distancing is impossible, according to the refugee agency.
“Diffa region in south-east Niger has been hard hit by increasing extremist violence on the Lake Chad Basin that has forced hundreds of thousands into the region”, Babar Baloch said. “In the first nine months of this year, over 450 acts of killing, kidnapping, sexual and gender-based violence, and other serious incidents were reported”.
According to UNHCR, Niger continues to show generosity towards people fleeing violence in the Lake Chad and Sahel regions.
- Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations flag alley, nations’ flags flying, a cloudy day.
- Wide shot, press briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Babar Baloch, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, condemns an attack by armed assailants on Toumour, a town in south-east Niger, that killed 28 people and injured hundreds more. UNHCR is gravely concerned for the safety of over 30,000 refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) who have been sheltering in Toumour”.
- Medium shot, journalist in press room
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Babar Baloch, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “As of Monday morning, 14 December, our teams and partners reported that people were on the move from Toumour toward Diffa, a town some 100 kilometres away. And this town is already host to 46,000 refugees, asylum seekers, displaced people, including returnees. Together with humanitarian partners and local authorities, we are organizing emergency shelter, food, water, and health support to the affected communities”.
- Wide shot, journalists in press briefing room in front of screen
- SOUNDBITE (English) - Babar Baloch, Spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR): “Diffa region in south-east Niger has been hard hit by increasing extremist violence on the Lake Chad Basin that has forced hundreds of thousands into the region. In the first nine months of this year, over 450 acts of killing, kidnapping, sexual and gender-based violence, and other serious incidents were reported”.
- Wide shot, podium and large screen
- Medium shot, journalists in press briefing room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Tuesday made the following remarks on the current situation in the Middle-East.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP
Schoolgirls killed, thousands displaced, aid routes compromised: UN humanitarians deplore effects of new Middle East war
On the fourth day of Israeli and United States airstrikes against Iran and amid growing violence and instability in the Middle East, the UN urgently called for protection of civilians and warned of growing displacement and humanitarian needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Well over 1.3 million people have fled Sudan’s ongoing war for South Sudan, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Friday, amid rising violence and a massive humanitarian emergency linked to the country’s political crisis.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday presented to the 61st Human Rights Council his global update on the human rights situation.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday presented to the UN Human Rights Council a new report on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday briefed the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the human rights situation in Sudan: “Nearly three years of brutal conflict have almost turned Sudan into a land of despair. The report I am presenting today is yet another chapter in the chronicle of cruelty. It outlines clear, ongoing patterns of violence against civilians, including killings, rape, and torture. As the fighting has intensified, violations of international law by all parties to the conflict have surged, while accountability has remained practically absent,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday told the Human Rights Council in Geneva today: “Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights. The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the de facto authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.”
3
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS , OCHA , UNHCR
Ukraine enters fifth year of war: Attacks and displacement deepen human suffering amid mounting recovery challenges
On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN officials took stock of the immense human and economic toll of the conflict while appealing to the world to “never get used to war.”
2
27
2
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | General Assembly , UNITED NATIONS
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022 shattered the peaceful aspirations of an entire continent, but war must never be the new normal, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.
1
48
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
A ceremony marking the completion of the construction of the Portail des Nations, a soon-to-open visitors centre for the UN in Geneva, was held today for diplomats from around the world who have gathered in the Swiss city for the opening session of the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his opening remarks to the 61str session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
10
1
1
Edited News | HRC , SG
In Geneva, delegates from more than 120 countries gathered on Monday to mark 20 years of the UN Human Rights Council and a shared commitment to international law, amid runaway global instability and conflict, amid runaway global instability and conflict.