Yesterday, government troops returning from Bama on humanitarian escort duty, were ambushed enroute Maiduguri by suspected remnants of Boko Haram terrorists hiding in Meleri village, a few kilometres from Kawuri. However, the gallant troops successfully fought off the ambush.
Unfortunately, two soldiers and three civilians were wounded in the ambush, among who were staff of United Nations agencies and other international humanitarian organisations. Those wounded in the attack have been evacuated to University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital in Borno State and are said to be in a stable condition.
Following the attack, the United Nations has temporarily suspended all aid deliveries in Borno State. Among those injured in the attack were a Unicef employee and an International Organisation for Migration contractor.
Nearly a quarter of a million children in Borno State suffer from life-threatening malnourishment and around one in five will die if they do not receive treatment, according to Unicef. Medecins Sans Frontieres has said that severely malnourished children were dying in large numbers across northeast Nigeria where food supplies are close to running out.
In 2014, Boko Haram controlled a territory around the size of Belgium un northeast Nigeria until most of it was recaptured last year by the army and troops from neighbouring countries. More than 15,000 people have been killed and at least 2m displaced by Boko Haram’s insurgency in the country.
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