West and Central Africa: Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot (18 – 24 May 2021)

Since early May, a series of armed attacks on villages in the commune of Tin-Akoff, in the northern Sahel region and close to the borders with Mali and Niger, has driven 4,755 people to flee their homes and seek refuge in the town of Tin-Akoff and the nearby town of Markoye. Local authorities are reporting urgent multi-sectoral needs among the newly displaced, but access to Tin-Akoff remains very difficult due to frequent security incidents, limiting humanitarian operations in the area since the beginning of the year. On 18 May, gunmen on motorcycles opened fired on villagers in Adjarara, in Tin-Akoff commune, killing 17 civilians and injuring five others. On 13 May, a similar incursion in the village of Wassoré left five people dead and small businesses set on fire. On 4 and 8 May, the villages of Menzourou and Adiora were also the sites of violent incursions during which 11 civilians were killed and private properties destroyed. The situation in Tin-Akoff remains particularly volatile, characterized by deadly clashes between non-state armed groups and security operations.

NIGERIA

PARTNERS RAMP UP EFFORTS TO AVERT SEVERE FOOD SHORTAGES IN RANN

Aid organizations prepositioning food supplies in Rann town, in northeastern Borno state, near the border with Cameroon, ahead of the upcoming rainy season, anticipating that the area hosting over 25,000 civilians and IDPs will be cut-off by flooding. WFP has also prepositioned some 30 tons of assorted food in neighbouring Ngala LGA, some 35 kilometers from Rann. Partners had reported concerning levels of food shortages and malnutrition in the area, especially among children. The situation will likely worsen during the rainy season as access to local and crossborder markets are impacted by flooding.

Rann is one of the most challenging operating contexts in north-east Nigeria due to repeated non-state armed groups attacks that have claimed hundreds of civilian lives including aid workers, and flooding that cuts off the entire town for several months every year.

DR CONGO

ERUPTION OF THE NYIRAGONGO VOLCANO

More than 20,000 people were displaced and left homeless by the 22 May eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano, 10km north of Goma, the capital of the eastern North-Kivu province. At least 31 deaths have been reported, including 13 people who died in vehicle accidents when trying to escape.

Others were killed when lava hit their homes. Many sustained injuries and some 40 adults are missing. UNICEF also reported that more than 150 children were separated from their families and more than 170 others are feared to be missing. Some 3,629 houses, three health structures and 12 schools were destroyed. The Government activated a contingency plan and humanitarian actors are assessing needs and providing assistance in the affected areas. Shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, health, protection, and food are among the urgent needs. The repair of the section of the Goma-Ruthsuru road cut by the lava flow, one of the key routes for the delivery of humanitarian aid, the restoration of electricity and water services and reopening of the Goma airport are also priorities. The volcanic eruption compounds the acute humanitarian needs in North-Kivu where 3.2 million people face a food emergency and 44 per cent of the country’s more than 5 million displaced people are in the province. The country’s Humanitarian Response Plan for 2021 is only 12 per cent funded. .

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs