In the latest Boko Haram attack to hit
the remote town of Rann, north-east Nigeria, four aid workers were reportedly killed.
The attack happened “after dark” outside a camp housing some 55,000
people displaced by the conflict and appeared to target the military,
said UN spokeswoman Samantha Newport.
A civilian militia source in Rann, which is some 175 kilometres (110
miles) from the Borno state capital of Maiduguri, and a senior military
source gave an identical death toll.
They also said eight soldiers were killed in the attack but there was no immediate official confirmation.
Newport said: “Four aid workers were killed, one aid worker was injured and one aid worker is missing, feared abducted.
“Of the aid workers that were killed, two worked for the IOM
(International Organization for Migration) in camp management; and one
was a medical doctor working as a third party consultant for UNICEF,
the UN children’s agency.”
No details were immediately available for the fourth but Newport said
the injured and missing were both women. All those involved were
Nigerian, she added.
Boko Haram fighters killed nine people from the Rann internally
displaced persons (IDP) camp in September last year, as they worked on
farms just outside the town.
In January last year, a botched Nigerian air strike intended to hit
jihadist fighters killed at least 112 people as aid workers distributed
food.
Commanders at the time called the bombing a mistake and blamed “the fog of war”.
An air force board of inquiry later blamed “lack of appropriate
marking of the area” for the bombardment and an unexpected gathering of
people at the location.