The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, has stated that the war against Boko Haram insurgents is not yet over.
The UNHCR, by this assertion, contradicted claims by the presidency that the insurgents have been technically defeated.
Recall that after the claim by the presidency, the insurgents on September 26, were reported to have struck at two communities near Chibok, in Borno State.
According to Voice of America, the UNCHR said the group still racks up fear in people in the region who live daily afraid that the dreaded terrorist group might return and attack them again.
The UNCHR spokesperson, William Spindler, was quoted as saying “The UNCHR came to its conclusion after interviewing community leaders and individuals in a number of newly accessible areas of Borno state.
“After an assessment of the situation in towns like Monguno, Bama, Damboa and Shani, the UNCHR has seen that the level of fear among the people is still so high for a group that the government said it had defeated.
“They have found similar patterns in these places of a high level of vulnerability among people displaced by Boko Haram with nearly every family affected by very worrying protection issues and that some of these people live in fear that the insurgency group could attack them again.
“The escaped Boko Haram victims have lived under the brutal rule of the terrorist group for a long time and are having difficulty recovering from the experience.
“They are traumatized. They are in need of help. Some of the problems that we see are related to the fact that they do not have the necessary aid or livelihoods, so, that is why we see some of these negative coping mechanisms like survival sex and other practices.”
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