Members of the Boko Haram have reportedly ambushed a humanitarian convoy escorted by the Nigerian soldiers, and wounded three civilians, including a U.N. worker and two soldiers. This attack has led the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF), which was part of the group that was attacked, to suspend its humanitarian activities in the troubled area.
The attack came as aid agencies are warning that children are dying of starvation daily among half a million people in need of urgent help in recently liberated areas that still are dangerous to reach.
The UNICEF employee and worker for the International Organization for Migration are among those wounded in Thursday’s ambush on the road from the city of Bama, 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) southeast of the regional capital, Maiduguri.
A military escorted convoy carrying Doctors Without Borders workers narrowly escaped a land mine this week a few kilometers from the scene of the ambush.
In a statement, UNICEF said: “unknown assailants attacked a humanitarian convoy that included staff from UNICEF, UNFPA and IOM. The convoy was traveling from Bama to Maiduguri in Borno State, Nigeria, returning from delivering desperately needed humanitarian assistance.
“UNICEF can confirm that a UNICEF employee and an IOM contractor were injured in the attack and are being treated at a local hospital. All other UNICEF, IOM and UNFPA staff are safe.
“The convoy was in a remote area of northeastern Nigeria, where protracted conflict has caused extreme suffering and has triggered a severe malnutrition crisis. 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.
“The United Nations has temporarily suspended humanitarian assistance missions pending review of the security situation.” [myad]
