More than 3.6 mln people displaced by Lake Chad Basin crisis: report

Boko Haram's insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin has resulted in the displacement of some 3.6 million people since 2009, of whom more than 2.6 million have yet to return home after being displaced, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said Friday.

"Humanitarian actors continue to witness widespread suffering that calls for the provision of urgent assistance," IOM Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Richard Danziger, said in a statement.

"The joint efforts of the authorities, humanitarian partners and donors remain vital to ensure that the basic needs of populations affected by the violence are met," he added.

Most of those forced to flee their homes (82 percent) are currently located in Nigeria, with the remaining 9 percent displaced in Cameroon, 6 percent in Niger and 3 percent in Chad.

According to IOM, 93 percent of those currently affected by conflict are displaced within their own countries, with the remaining 7 percent forced to cross international borders to seek safety in neighbouring states.

Affecting disproportionately the young, figures show that estimated 62 percent of the displaced are children under the age of 18.

The extremist group Boko Haram has since 2009 waged a campaign of violence in Nigeria in an effort to establish an Islamic state.

It has killed thousands of people and kidnapped hundreds more, with surrounding countries including Niger, Chad and Cameroon also affected. Enditem