Following the airstrike on an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Rann, a locality in Borno by the military, thenUN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) has mobilised emergency response.
The UN Resident andHumanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Edward Kallon, said this in a statement issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA).
Kallon described the accidental airstrike as “an unfortunate tragedy that befell people already suffering the effects of violence”.
“The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) today dispatched a helicopter with four medical personnel and 400 kg of emergency medical supplies.
“UNHAS also airlifted eight Nigeria Red Cross workers injured following a military airstrike that hit Rann locality of Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state.
“This is an unfortunate tragedy that befell people already suffering the effects of violence,” Kallon said.
Kallon said that the Nigerian Army had also deployed a medical team and “is working with humanitarian partners to ensure maximum support to the affected people”.
He said Rann is one of the localities in north-eastern Nigeria that have recently become accessible to humanitarian organisations.
The UN official said emergency assistance is gradually being ramped up in areas that were previously unreachable.
“In Rann, around 43,000 people are internally displaced and struggle with serious food shortages and severe acute malnutrition,” he said.
According to him, humanitarian access to the area has been difficult due to insecurity and bad roads.
“The humanitarian community expresses its profound sympathy and solidarity with those affected by today’s incident.
“Additional assistance and personnel are to be deployed to Rann in the coming days. It is indeed an unfortunate and sad event… we continue to do our best to assist those wounded,” Kallon said.
The UN official said further updates would be issued as information becomes available.