Not less than 363,807 persons have been displaced by floods and insecurity in the Lake province of Chad, which figure is more than half the population of the administrative region of the Central African nation.
According to the International Organisation for Immigration (IOM), this figure is 22 per cent higher than the last figures published in April this year.
This number is also the highest registered in the province since the OIM put in place the matrix for the follow up of displacements in the Lake Chad Basin which extends to territories in Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon.
The International Organisation for Immigration reveals that between August 8 and 16, 2020, about 12,000 persons were displaced from the divisions of Fouli, Kaya and Mamdi in the Lake province.
This is the highest figure of displaced persons ever recorded by the IOM during such a short period. Among the displaced, 36 per cent were forced to move following the recent floods in the area and 64 per cent because of the aggravation of the security situation in the Lack Chad Basin.
“This is a disturbing tendency because the displacements have not only become recurrent but also many and prolonged because of the deterioration of the security and environmental situation”, revealed Anne Kathrin Schaefer, the Representative of the International Organisation for Immigration in Chad.
Paradoxically, while international humanitarian organisations report increased casualties and displacements linked to the insecurity in the Lake Chad Basin, the military authorities of the affected countries grouped under the umbrella of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) have been reporting resounding military successes in operations against the Boko Haram, ISWAP, ISIS and other insurgent groups operating the region.
“Between the two entities, one seems to be economic with the truth and it is almost certain only the one that benefits from untruths can afford to be dishonest”, said an EU diplomat in Yaounde who opted for anonymity because of his diplomatic status.
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It’s a pity how much our value for human lives have so depreciated. It now takes foreign organizations to bring out the reality on the ground and probably bring about a workable solution. May God judge us fairly according to our efforts.