The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) says that displaced people in Nigeria are increasingly being targeted by Islamist suicide bombers.
The agency made the comments following a Tuesday suicide attack on a camp hosting internally displaced people in the northeastern part of the country which killed at least 20 people.
AFP reports NRC head in Nigeria Ernest Mutanga to say that “towns we previously considered safe for civilians are also under attack,” adding it seems armed groups are “looking for softer targets like places where civilians are sheltering.”
“We need to see the Nigerian government stepping up to protect civilians in displacement camps,” Mutanga said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“It’s their primary responsibility.” He added, saying that camps have turned “into death traps.”
Islamists terror group Boko Haram has waged an eight-year insurgency in West Africa, killing more than 20,000 people and forcing millions to flee their homes.
The group is known to use suicide bombers – often women – to stage attacks in various parts of West Africa.
