40,000 people displaced by recent Boko Haram violence in Niger

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said an estimated 40,000 people were displaced in one of its deadliest offensives by Boko Haram in Niger, a UN spokesman told reporters here Monday.

Boko Haram attacked a military position in Niger's Diffa region last Friday killing and wounding soldiers, after a string of attacks, including in the town of Yebi, on May 31, UN spokesman Spokesman Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"It is estimated that the attacks in Yebi and Bosso displaced some 40,000 people, although no official figures are yet available," he said. "Initial reports indicate that the displaced people urgently need food, shelter, psychosocial support, health care, household items, water and sanitation. "

Around 30 humanitarian organizations operate in Bosso, a city near Niger's border with Nigeria, and are mobilizing existing relief stocks to the affected areas, Dujarric said. "An inter-agency assessment mission is planned for today."

At least 30 soldiers from Niger and two from Nigeria were killed on Friday in the wake of Boko Haram's attack on the two neighboring countries' border near the city of Bosso, reports said.

The town of Bosso is part of the Diffa region, where many refugees and internally displaced people have sought shelter from Boko Haram violence elsewhere. The region has been targeted numerous times in attacks blamed on Boko Haram fighters.

The eastern part of Niger, close to the border with Nigeria, has witnessed since February 2015 repeated attacks launched by Boko Haram, who has claimed the lives of hundreds of Nigerien civilians and soldiers, the group has also displaced thousands of Nigerians as well as Nigeriens. Endit