UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 civilians have been killed, with tens of thousands of people fleeing their homes in the face of repeated attacks by armed groups in northeastern Nigeria, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.
"Between 60 and 100 civilians were killed in the latest attack earlier this week," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief, told reporters at a regular briefing.
"The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says some 30,000 people have fled to Cameroon from Nigeria's northeast town of Rann, with thousands of others seeking refuge in the areas of Ngala and Maiduguri following repeated attacks by armed groups," he said.
Humanitarian partners of the United Nations activated emergency response mechanisms and conducted assessments to respond to the needs in Ngala, the spokesman said. Rann has been inaccessible to humanitarians since the previous attacks in mid-January.
"Safety concerns are continuing to rise for thousands of civilians who are either trapped in the town or who have fled," Dujarric said.
In Cameroon, the World Food Programme said it is planning general food distribution for 13,500 new refugees, while the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) plans to provide shelter and other support in the coming days, the spokesman said.
