Three Aid workers and two contractors have been abducted by Boko Haram insurgents in northeast Nigeria where an insurgency is being fought by the military.
“FHI 360 (a US non-profit organisation) condemns in the strongest possible terms the abduction of three staff members and two contractors in Ngala, Nigeria,” Christy Delafield, an FHI spokesperson said in a statement. Borno State‘s Ngala is situated close to the Cameroon border.
“We are extremely concerned for our colleagues and call for their unconditional, immediate and safe return,” she added.
The assistance workers’ nationality was not immediately apparent. According to Delafield, the staff members were working to offer the community access to life-saving medical care.
“We are not sure who is responsible,” said another humanitarian official who asked to remain anonymous.
He claimed that the kidnapping happened on Tuesday night. Operating in the area are Boko Haram, who in 2014 abducted hundreds of schoolgirls in Chibok, and ISWAP, a terrorist organisation affiliated with the Islamic State.
The UN estimates that over 40,000 people have died since the northeast insurgency started in 2009. More than two million people are now without a place to live.
As a result of the violence’s expansion into nearby Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, a regional military alliance has been formed to combat the extremists.