Dikwa attack in Nigeria: humanitarian workers "directly targeted" by jihadists
According to the UN, the Dikwa attack could affect humanitarian aid to nearly 100,000 people in the region.
(Illustrative image: a camp for internally displaced people in Dikwa, in February 2017).
AFP - FLORIAN PLAUCHEUR
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Dikwa, in northeast Nigeria, was once again the scene of clashes between the military and insurgents on Monday evening, suspected of being affiliated with the Islamic State.
While no assessment has yet been given, the United Nations “strongly condemned” a violent attack which is likely to affect the support provided to thousands of people.
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In a statement released on Tuesday, March 2, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon expressed his indignation at
the attack on
the town of Dikwa
.
An attack that "
directly targeted
" facilities and humanitarian workers, he laments.
Several agencies and a hospital were set on fire or suffered damage when suspected Islamists attacked a military camp and a humanitarian center on Monday evening.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack on the city, but in the same statement, the UN referred to "
a non-state armed group
" as being behind this "
violent attack."
"
Nigerian military spokesman Mohamed Yerima for his part said that the army had repelled the attack on Dikwa, and considered the situation normal at midday.
Earlier today, other sources claimed the city had fallen to the attackers.
A city however converted into a defensive fortress since it hosts one of the army's “super-camps”.
However, this is the third time that the suspected jihadists have succeeded in entering Dikwa, another sign of a security situation which continues to deteriorate.
Humanitarian aid in danger
A situation that is highly likely to compromise humanitarian aid in the region.
"
This attack will affect the support provided to nearly 100,000 people who are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance,
" said Sandy Maroun, communications officer for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Nigeria.
Especially with the pandemic that is likely to spread in Borno State, their needs will change, their situation will deteriorate.
It's going to be a challenge.
The Ocha therefore calls on "
all the armed parties to put an end to the violence and to guarantee the protection of civilians and humanitarian personnel.
"
In a whole series of secondary towns across Borno there are IDP camps which are under the protection of the army and which are totally dependent on humanitarian aid.
Apparently there have already been humanitarian evacuations today from other places in northern Borno.
It is very worrying.
Vincent Foucher, CNRS researcher and specialist in Nigeria
Edmond Sadaka
A campaign abandoned to terrorists
The specialist Marc-Antoine Pérouse de Montclos, director of research at the IRD (Research Institute for Development) also underlines that the small town of Dikwa is representative of the current targets of Iswap, a faction linked to Boko Haram.
The terrorist group hardly carries out any more actions in the big cities.
“
Since President Buhari came to power in 2015, the army has entrenched itself in super-camps, species of fortresses, and suddenly leaves the field open in the countryside where various and varied jihadist groups circulate, often with battle thieves and different armed groups in the area.
So we are here in a fairly classic guerrilla warfare configuration, the government holds the towns and the countryside is in the hands of the insurgents.
"
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To read also:
Nigeria: jihadists attack a UN base in the northeast
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