{VOA NEWS / GENEVA}—In the wake of escalating attacks by Boko Haram militants, tens of thousands of people in southeast Niger have been forced to flee their homes, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
Boko Haram’s attacks on the town of Bosso on Friday, Sunday and Monday displaced an estimated 50,000 people in the troubled Diffa region, the UNHCR said.
Those fleeing Bosso are mainly walking westward to the town of Toumour, some 30 kilometers to the west, UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards said at a news conference Tuesday, noting people reportedly are “traumatized.”
“People are sleeping in the open. People urgently need shelter. They need other help,” he said. “… The welfare of these people and others forced to flee in this region is, at present, of great concern.” READ MORE OF THIS STORY