More than 3,000 persons are now stranded without food, water and shelter in Rann, the newly liberated headquarters of Kala Balge Local Government Area of Borno State and its environment.
Some of the indigenes of the area, who spoke to journalists in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital said that after Nigerian troops dislodged insurgents from the area over a week ago, emergency humanitarian workers had not reached out to the people.
As a result, people in the area, which shares a border with Cameroon Republic, now face untold hardship.
One of the residents, who spoke to journalists anonymously, said women and children, who survived the onslaught in the area and are now taking refuge at Rann in Kala-Balge, were mostly affected.
He said they were left without food or water, as there was no presence of officials from National Emergency Management Agency or Borno State Emergency Management Agency with the area largely inaccessibility.
The Borno State Commissioner for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Hon. Usman Zannah, who expressed concern about the plight of the newly liberated people, promised that state government would solve the problems they faced.
“We just received a message that more than 3,000 people mostly women and children are stranded after the liberation of Kala-Balge and other surrounding villages,” Zannah told journalists.
“We have started mobilising people including security operatives, SEMA officials and members of the civilian JTF to deliver relief materials to those victims as soon as possible.”
The Information Officer of NEMA, Mallam Abdulkadir Ibrahim, said the necessary arrangements had been made by the agency to assist the displaced persons.
“We have received the report that over 3,000 IDPs were at some of our satellite camps in Kala-Balge, and we have finished the assessment process, and very soon we will reach out to them,” he said.
Located in the north eastern part of troubled Borno State, Kala-Balge is a border community with Cameroon Republic and about 200 km drive from Maiduguri, the state capital.
The Nigerian troop in a major onslaught against the insurgents on Tuesday, March 22, 2016 cleared the area of the remnants of the Boko Haram terrorists.
It was reported that the triumphant troops apart from killing 22 terrorists cleared pockets of the terrorists in Wumbi, Tunish, Tilem and Malawaji, Makaudari, Daima, Buduli, Sadigumo, Jiwe, Sidigeri and Kala villages. Punch
