40,000 Nigerians chased out of Cameroon – Group

40,000 residents of Rann, Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno State, Nigeria, who were chased out of their community by incessant Boko Haram attacks to Goura in the neighbouring Cameroon three weeks ago, have been sent back home.

The Field Communication Officer of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Maiduguri, Abdulkareem Yakubu, said in a statement yesterday, that the Nigerian refugees are now leaving Cameroon after being told to go home.

Abdulkareem quoted Stephanie Remion, MSF Emergency Coordinator in Goura, Cameroon, as saying: “Today we are seeing people packing up their belongings and leaving for Rann after being told by Cameroonian and Nigerian authorities to leave.

“We are extremely concerned over what will happen to them once they go back to Rann as the security situation there is very uncertain and there is no humanitarian assistance available. Rann has been attacked several times in recent months and many of the patients we treated in Goura told us they fled because they were afraid. They don’t want to return.

“We know there were suspected cases of measles in Goura and if this spreads in Rann where there is no medical care available, it will be a disaster.”