UNHCR says nearly 64,000 Nigerians flee to Niger this year

Nearly 64,000 people have fled violence in northern Nigeria for neighbouring Niger since the start of the year, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said.

UNHCR Director of External Relations Dominique Hyde described the worsening conditions at a UN briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, following a visit to Diffa in south-eastern Niger.

The agency said many newly arrived families were living in makeshift shelters with limited access to food, clean water and medical services. More than two-thirds of the more than 23,000 arrivals in Diffa this year were children.

Its written statement put arrivals in Niger at nearly 64,000 and said several hundred Nigerians had also sought refuge in Benin. Most arrivals in Niger were in Diffa and Tahoua, both bordering Nigeria.

The latest figures add a new assessment to an earlier migration update on Nigerians crossing into Niger and Benin, which gave no total for those movements.

UNHCR is seeking $11.4 million for its response in Niger, Nigeria and Benin, including $2 million for immediate needs such as water, food, shelter, health care and registration.

Sources: UN Geneva briefing; UNHCR statement via Zawya; Vanguard