The International Committee of the Red Cross has released statistics that state that over 22,000 people mostly children are missing as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria. The missing people tend to disappear when they flee attacks or are abducted and detained by the authorities, Boko Haram and ISWAP.
In a statement, ICRC President Peter Maurer said nearly 60 percent of those missing were children and that it was the highest number of missing persons registered with the organization in any country. Meaning that thousands of parents and guardians don’t know where their children are and if they are alive or dead.
The U.S. assesses that Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province have been responsible for more than 35,000 deaths since 2011. More than two million people have been displaced, sparking a dire humanitarian crisis in the region. In Monguno, internally displaced Nigerians outnumber residents nearly two to one.
