MADRID, 1 September (EUROPA PRESS) –
The junta that has ruled Niger since the July coup has ordered NGOs and UN agencies to suspend all humanitarian activities in areas where military operations are taking place, without specifying which areas and organizations could be affected.
The Interior Ministry of the National Council for the Protection of the Homeland (CNSP) has said in a statement that this “temporary” cessation of “all activities and movements” is due to the current security situation and the “commitment” of the Armed Forces. Nigerian navies, according to the news portal Actu Niger.
Several armed groups remain active in Niger, particularly in the border areas with neighboring countries, and in recent weeks they have increased their actions, precisely in the wake of the fall of the government of Mohamed Bazoum, which has caused concern among international observers.
In its western territory, near the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso, affiliates of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State operate, while the Lake Chad Basin in the south-east of the country is the scene of attacks by Boko Haram and its affiliate, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA ).
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that around 20,000 people in the Tillabéri (west) and Diffa (southeast) areas have been forced to leave their homes in just four weeks, raising fears that the crisis is worsening. More than 4.3 million people across the country are already dependent on humanitarian aid.
The director of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the region, Christopher Gascon, called in a statement for the establishment of humanitarian corridors to reach conflict areas and also organize a “safe, dignified and voluntary” return of migrants. Migrants who are stranded in Niger and want to return to their countries of origin.
Around 5,000 migrants are receiving assistance at one of the seven IOM Transit Centers, with another 1,400 awaiting a solution outside these facilities.