Some 40,000 people displaced by recent Boko Haram attack in Niger's border area

The United Nations on Monday said that an estimated 40,000 people have been displaced since the June 3 attack reportedly by Boko Haram in Niger's town of Bosso in the West African country's border with Nigeria.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the security situation in Niger's Bosso area remains volatile following the deadly attack, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.

Since June 7, authorities and humanitarian partners have been progressively conducting assessments and delivering assistance in accessible areas, the spokesman said. "They have, so far, distributed water and high energy biscuit and provided ambulatory health care."

However, only 25 percent of the required 74 million U.S. dollars needed for assistance in the Diffa region have been mobilized so far, he said. "Emergency stocks have been diverted from other programs to provide lifesaving assistance."

"Aid organizations warn that additional resources are urgently required and must be made available immediately to prevent a humanitarian disaster," he said.

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