Three UN workers have been killed by Boko Haram terrorists during an attack on Rann community in the Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno State.
The United Nations Organisation on Friday began the evacuation of aid workers from the area following the heavy attack which also left three soldiers dead.
It was learnt that the Boko Haram insurgents late on Thursday attacked the Rann Internally Displaced Persons camp, during which the UN workers were killed.
Two of the deceased workers were with UN agency; International Organisation for Migration, while the third victim was a doctor, working with the UN Children’s Fund. A female UN nurse was also reported to have been abducted by the insurgents.
A yet-to-be-ascertained number of civilians in the camp were also said to have been killed while many others were injured during the gun battle.
The Boko Haram terrorists reportedly abducted three aid workers and civilians apart from the UN nurse.
Two of the abducted workers are reportedly working with the International Committee of the Red Cross – another major international relief agency in the North-East.
The terrorists reportedly stormed the unit of 3 Battalion, 7 Division, located in Rann at about 6 pm on Thursday and exchanged fire with the soldiers for about five hours.
Three soldiers and three mobile policemen were killed after the firefight.
The United Nations for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a statement on Friday by its spokesperson, Samantha Newport, confirmed the death of its three workers, noting that three other workers were injured by the insurgents.
The UN said, “The Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, has condemned the killing of three aid workers in Rann town, Borno State, northeast Nigeria on Thursday night following an attack by a non-state armed group on the military facilities next to the town.
“Three aid workers were also injured in the attack, and a female nurse is missing and feared abducted. Two deceased aid workers were contractors with the International Organisation for Migration, working as coordinators in the camp for 55,000 internally displaced persons, who have fled their homes as a result of the ongoing conflict.
“The other deceased aid worker was a medical doctor employed as a third party consultant with UNICEF. The United Nations is also concerned about other civilians who may have been injured or killed in the attack.
“The humanitarian crisis in Nigeria’s northeast, now in its ninth year, shows no sign of abating. Close to 80,000 people, including 55,000 internally displaced persons, currently reside in Rann and are supported with humanitarian assistance.
“The United Nations and non-governmental humanitarian organisations are working across the north-east of Nigeria to provide aid, including food, safe water and medicine, to some 6.1 million people in need in the northeast. Some 3,000 aid workers are present in the northeast, the majority of whom are Nigerian nationals.”
The Humanitarian Coordinator, Kallon, said, “Aid workers put their lives on the line every single day to provide emergency assistance to vulnerable women, children and men. Our deepest condolences go to the families of the victims and our brave colleagues and we call on authorities to ensure the perpetrators are brought to justice and account .”
