Central Nigeria clashes leave thousands displaced
3 Min Read
Nigeria has seen three months of intercommunal violence in the north-central part of the country.
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Residents cling to the back of a pick-up truck while carrying their belongings as they reach a police station outside Mangu, near Jos in Nigeria's Plateau state, on May 20, 2023, after fleeing unrest in central Nigeria (AFP)
A local Nigerian official has stated that at least 80,000 people have been evacuated in 3 months of inter-communal violence in Plateau state.
The Nigerian army has ramped up security in an attempt to end the clashes that have increased dramatically since May.
The increased attacks have primarily targeted local communities, with the local state administration reporting 300 deaths.
Major-General Taoreed Lagbaja, Nigeria's chief of staff, arrived in Mangu, Plateau State, on Saturday to announce the beginning of special operations to "stamp out" the issue.
The skirmishes are only one of the significant security difficulties confronting Nigeria's new President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who also faces insurgents, highly armed bandit groups, and separatist conflicts.
The Mangu area has been one of the epicenters of recent violence, with communities being plundered and farms being destroyed.
Read more: Death toll in Nigeria's central state attack rises to 125
A Mangu official, Markus Artu, stated that "there is an estimate of 80,000 internally displaced persons, within 11 various camps in the local government area," with 18,000 of them in a camp at an elementary school in Mangu. A camp coordinator, Yamput Daniel, confirmed to AFP a similar number.
Officials from the state emergency response agency have offered help and are yet to provide an official report on the number of displaced.
Thousands packed together
Grace Emmanuel, one of the displaced, expressed that things have not been easy, with food scarce and water from the nearby well not enough for the thousands packed together.
According to Emmanuel, "The crisis has rendered us homeless, our farmland has been destroyed and we are left to manage our lives here in this primary school."
The regional commander of Plateau's Operation Safe Haven has sent an additional 300 troops to the district with armored vehicles.
Army Chief of Staff General Lagbaja instructed troops to work with communities and respond to distress calls.
Plateau stands on the border between Nigeria's primarily Muslim north and mostly Christian south and has long been a source of contention.
Mary Ishaya, a displayed woman in Mangu district, stated, "We are tired of being here, we appreciate the security coming, but it would be best if the government would deploy most of the security to the villages so that we can get back."
"But we are left here, with our children, no food, no medicine, and the children are not going to school."
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