Five Nigerian aid workers, including an employee of the French NGO Action Against Hunger (ACF) were killed by jihadists who kidnapped them in northeastern Nigeria, in the grip of the conflict against Boko Haram, ACF said on Wednesday. Fighters affiliated with the Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap) group had previously posted a video showing the assassination of the five men.
"It is with deep sadness that we confirm the assassination of Ishaku Yakubu, an employee of Action Against Hunger at the Monguno base, and four other aid workers who had been taken hostage by a non-state armed group in northeast Nigeria, in Borno State, June 8, 2020, ”ACF said in a statement.
Often targeted NGOs
Humanitarian workers appeared in a video, presumably shot on June 21, in which they explained that they had been kidnapped by fighters affiliated with the Islamic State in West Africa (Iswap) group at various times during June. This faction of the jihadist group of Boko Haram regularly attacks employees of local and international NGOs.
Northeastern Nigeria is in the throes of a bloody insurgency by jihadists, who thrive in this remote area, near Lake Chad, whose shores are shared by four countries (Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad).
Crucial help for residents
The United Nations estimates that nearly 7 million people depend on humanitarian aid in this region, on their knees after more than ten years of conflict against jihadist groups.
More than 36,000 people have been killed since 2009 in the violence in Nigeria and more than two million people still cannot return to their homes. The insurgency has also spread to neighboring countries Niger, Cameroon and Chad.
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