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Thousands of Nigerians flee fight to Cameroon: army

Xinhua, March 9, 2015 Adjust font size:

Thousands of northeast Nigerian residents took refuge in the Cameroonian Far-North region to flee Sunday's fight between the militant group Boko Haram and coalition of Chadian and Nigerian armies, a Cameroonian military source said Monday.

The source that declined to be named told Xinhua more than 100 families including a large number of children fled to Cameroon after the new fighting broke out in northeast Nigeria.

The Far-North region already hosts more than 30,000 Nigerian refugees. The new Nigerian refugees now live in the open air in Makari town.

The source said the refugees' move coincided with the sending of food and materials by Nigerian authorities to the people in distress. The donations were sent in 12 large trucks and delivered Sunday in Maroua, capital of Far-North region.

Residents who live in north Nigeria have been fleeing to Cameroon since the beginning of the insurrection of Boko Haram in 2009, but this is the first time the Nigerian government offers humanitarian aid to Cameroon, according to the source.

The Chadian government has sent troops to Cameroon and Nigeria to help the countries fight against Boko Haram since mid January this year.

The Sunday fighting between Boko Haram and the army left three Chadian soldiers killed. The fight took place a day after Boko Haram announced on Internet to swear allegiance to the Islamic State. Endi