UN Humanitarian Convoy in Nigeria Ambushed by Boko Haram

Local Editor

A United Nations humanitarian convoy was ambushed by Boko Haram terrorists Thursday in Nigeria's restive northeast, leaving several people wounded, the UN children's agency and the Nigerian army said.

It was the first such attack on aid workers in the volatile region, the epicentre of the seven-year Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria's mainly-Muslim north.

"The convoy was travelling from Bama to Maiduguri in Borno State, Nigeria, returning from delivering desperately needed assistance," when it was ambushed, UNICEF said in a statement Friday.

"Unknown assailants attacked a humanitarian convoy that included staff from UNICEF, UNFPA, and IOM," the statement added.

It said a UNICEF employee and an IOM contractor were injured in the attack and were being treated at a local hospital.

"All other UNICEF, IOM and UNFPA staff are safe," it added.

UNICEF said the team was in a remote area of northeastern Nigeria, where protracted conflict has caused extreme suffering and has triggered a severe malnutrition crisis.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team