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UN suspends humanitarian aid missions in northeastern Nigeria

Xinhua, July 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

The United Nations has temporarily suspended humanitarian aid missions in northeastern Nigeria after a humanitarian convoy was attacked by unknown assailants, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday.

The convoy was traveling from Bama to Maiduguri in Borno State on its way back from delivering humanitarian assistance to the area where conflict has triggered a severe malnutrition crisis, said UNICEF in a statement.

"This was not only an attack on humanitarian workers. It is an attack on the people who most need the assistance and aid that these workers were bringing," said UNICEF.

On Wednesday, UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien has said the violence perpetrated by Boko Haram is resulting severe humanitarian crisis in Nigeria and its neighboring countries.

The Borno State has been a stronghold of the extremist group Boko Haram and has been frequently raided in the past six years. In past months, The Nigerian government has launched several military operations to eliminate the terrorist threat.

Boko Haram, which seeks to impose strict Islamic law in northern Nigeria, has been blamed for some 20,000 deaths and displacing of more than 2.6 million people since 2009. Endit