Thousands of people who recently arrived in southeastern Nigeria seeking refuge and safety from fighting in Cameroon are being assisted by local authorities and the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR said Tuesday.
"Together with the Nigerian authorities, we have registered some 2,000 people so far, with the help of our local partners in various locations in southeastern Nigeria," said UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch at a UN media briefing.
Those fleeing to Nigeria do so following renewed violence in Anglophone parts of Cameroon earlier in October, Baloch said.
An additional 3,000 Cameroonians are awaiting registration, while more people might be trapped in forests on the Cameroon side as they attempt to cross the border, said UNHCR.
The refugee agency said it was working with the Nigerian government and other UN agencies on a contingency plan, readying humanitarian assistance for up to 40,000 people crossing into Nigeria.
"Our fear, however, is that 40,000 might actually be a conservative figure in a situation where the conflict might continue," said Baloch.
Nigeria and Cameroon are already grappling with one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with 2.5 million people displaced by insurgency from the extremist Islamist group Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region, said UNHCR.
The current influx of Cameroonians seeking refuge in Nigeria poses additional challenges for the international community and puts a burden on an already stretched assistance.
