Three aid workers killed in Boko Haram attack in Nigeria: UN

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Three aid workers were confirmed killed in a Boko Haram attack in northeast Nigeria, the UN said on Friday, in the latest violence to underscore the jihadists’ enduring threat.

The world body and two security sources initially said four people were killed in the attack in the remote town of Rann on Thursday evening but later revised the death toll.

Rann is located some 175 kilometres (110 miles) east of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, near the border with Cameroon and communications are difficult.

A UN spokeswoman in Abuja, Samantha Newport, said the attack happened “after dark” outside a camp housing some 55,000 people displaced by the conflict.

“Of the aid workers that were killed, two worked for the IOM (International Organization for Migration) in camp management; and one was a medical doctor working as a third party consultant for UNICEF,” the UN children’s agency, she added.

Three aid workers were injured and a female nurse was missing, feared abducted. All those killed, injured or missing were Nigerian.

The UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Edward 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.”

There was no immediate confirmation of deaths or injuries among the IDPs but a civilian militia source in Rann and a senior military figure in Maiduguri said eight soldiers were killed.

– ‘Superior firepower’ –

Boko Haram fighters “in large numbers” appeared to target troops protecting the camp, they said.

Mohammed Abdiker, IOM director of operations and emergencies, said the militants had “superior firepower” and were “armed with automatic weapons, rocket propelled grenades and gun trucks”.

“We are outraged and saddened at the killings of two of our colleagues in an attack by Boko Haram in North East Nigeria last evening,” he added.