A terror attack in Nigeria’s northeast has left more than 50 people dead, officials confirmed today, Feb. 11. More than 70 are said to be injured.
Two female suicide bombers attacked a camp for internally displaced people on Feb. 9. The camp, which houses more than 50,000 refugees, lies in the border town of Dikwa, 80 kilometres from the birthplace of militant sect Boko Haram in Maiduguri. A third bomber, who was apprehended before detonating an explosive, said Boko Haram organized the attacks, reports CNN.
Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari has promised to end Boko Haram’s seven-year insurgency in the area. On Dec. 24, he announced a “technical” victory over the group, but that evaluation now appears to have been premature.
Buhari is currently on vacation, but vice-president Yemi Osinbajo described the attack as “regrettable” and ordered increased security in all of the country’s camps for internally displaced people.
An estimated 2.6 million people have been displaced from their homes due to violence in the area, and a million kids have been forced out of school. According to a 2014 report (pdf) by Internal Displaced Monitoring Center and the Norwegian Refugee Center, only Syria and Colombia have more locally displaced people than Nigeria.