New York, NY, November 30, 2020 — The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is shocked at the report of a further attack on civilians in Nigeria: on Saturday Nov. 28th where at least 110 farmers were killed in an attack in Koshobe village in Jere local government, Borno State, not far from the areas where IRC currently operates. This brutal and senseless attack on civilian men and women who were harvesting crops is another reminder of the violence unacceptably common in North East Nigeria. The IRC stands in solidarity with the families of the victims and calls for justice, all parties to commit to the protection of civilians and international humanitarian law.
The IRC has been working in Nigeria since 2012. The IRC operates in all three states in northeast Nigeria (Borno, Adamawa and Yobe). We provide both immediate lifesaving and life-sustaining activities as well as medium-term recovery programs. The IRC’s programming includes primary health, nutrition and reproductive health care activities; educational support services for out-of-school youth, women’s protection and empowerment activities, water and sanitation programming, and economic recovery and development activities.