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| source: UNHCR |
A new refugee camp with 2,500 temporary homes is being built
in Nigeria's northeastern city of Maiduguri for a few of the hundreds of
thousands of refugees who fled the Boko Haram uprising.
Experts believe the new camp is another sign that the
conflict is expected to end soon. The camp will have in it, houses and public
schools.
Hundreds of thousands of children have not been to school
for more than 18 months in Maiduguri and elsewhere in northeast Nigeria, where
authorities closed all schools as they were targeted by the Islamic insurgents.
No one knows how many refugees there are because most live
with friends, family and strangers who have taken pity on them. Public grounds
and the compounds of mosques and churches also provide refuge.
Some Nigerian officials have said there are about 200,000
refugees in Maiduguri, but Doctors Without Borders put the number at 1 million
in August with hundreds arriving each week.
The U.N. agencies for refugees and children are building the
camp along with Borno state government to house about 20,000 people. Mohammed
Tejan-Cole of the U.N. refugee agency told attendees at the ground-breaking
ceremony that the camp will include wells, toilets, a clinic and classrooms.
Credit: hosted.ap.org
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