IDPs: Fire Razes 38 Shelters In Borno State, More Persons Displaced

38 shelters have been gutted by fire in two Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps at Ngala Local Government Area of the state, Borno State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) disclosed today.

The SEMA Director of Rescue Operations, Malam Usman Kachala, who confirmed the incidence in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Maiduguri said that dozens of households in the camps were displaced during the fire outbreak which occurred on May 21.

According to him, the fire which started from an IDPs tent, gutted other shelters because there was no immediate fire service response in the camps to attack the fire in time.

Kachalla said that the agency and other partners were working to address the humanitarian situation at the camps.

The Ngala IDPs camp is the second highest IDPs camp in the state, housing some 14,000 households.

The Boko Haram insurgency, which forced people into the camps has killed more than 27,000 people and displaced 1.8 million others in the North-East.

The insurgency has since spread to neighbouring countries, including Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military response to fight the jihadists.

Naija News understands that Borno state has been at the centre of incessant attacks from the Islamic sect, Boko Haram who have terrorized Nigeria since 2009 in a bid to enforce a strict Islamic code.