HRW says more than seven million people in need of urgent life-saving assistance
Aid agencies are struggling to respond to the humanitarian crisis in north-eastern Nigeria because of worsening insecurity and restrictions imposed by the military, Human Rights Watch says.
Ten years of insurgency by Boko Haram Islamist militants has left close to two million people displaced.
“Nigerian authorities should ensure that aid agencies can deliver timely and effective help to people affected by the conflict,” said HRW researcher Anietie Ewang in a statement.
“Undue restrictions are intensifying the suffering of vulnerable people in dire need of life-saving assistance.”
The rights group spoke to numerous organisations, some of which said military control over where and when they worked was putting their staff in danger.
They feared they might not be viewed as independent of the government. Last year 12 aid workers were killed. Two others remain in captivity after being abducted.
