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 | UNICEF
A little over one year since a ceasefire agreement was announced between Hamas fighters and Israel, more than 340 children have been reported killed and hundreds more injured, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , IFRC
Six weeks after Nepal’s deadly flooding disaster, communities are still struggling to rebuild their lives, but they will need sustained help as global warming increases the risk of another Himalayan catastrophe, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
In suspected Russia plague death, testing and monitoring underway – WHO
The death of a lab worker in Russia’s Siberia region has sparked concerns about plague being the cause, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, adding that it was following the situation closely.
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday provided and oral update to the 63rd session of the Human rights Council on the human rights situation in Haiti.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Repeated delays in bringing lifesaving medicines, prosthetics and more from Israel into Gaza risk having devastating consequences on Palestinians who urgently need them in the wartorn enclave, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday. “A truck full of non-priority supplies or the right supplies arriving too late, doesn't save lives. That's the question that actually matters," said Dr Reinhilde Van De Weerdt, WHO Representative in the OPT.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
DRC: Early access to care and oxygen decisive for Ebola patients’ survival – WHO
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), health workers fighting the country’s largest-ever Ebola outbreak are struggling to overcome critical challenges to patient care, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UN
Civilians in Iran are continuing to feel the consequences of months of conflict and military escalation, the UN’s top official in the country has said, as loss of life, damage to civilian infrastructure and mounting economic pressures leave many facing continued uncertainty.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Aid agencies in Yemen highlighted the growing hunger emergency sparked by renewed fighting between Houthi opposition forces and Government troops, after mobile health clinics reported that hundreds of children displaced by the violence are suffering from the most deadly form of malnutrition.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Displacement on the rise in Yemen as fighting continues - UNHCR
As hostilities worsen in Yemen, more people have been fleeing their homes, further intensifying the humanitarian crisis within the region, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OHCHR , UNFPA , UNOG , UNHCR , WHO
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis growing by the hour amid spike in displacement
Yemenis displaced by renewed fighting have described fleeing for their lives amid shelling and gunfire, aid agencies reported on Friday, while highlighting the dramatic increase in humanitarian needs in the country and in Djibouti, where thousands have sought shelter.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office issued on Friday a report documenting a shocking pattern of sexual violence amid Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine.