ICRC helping displaced in Niger Delta

Violent clashes have been taking place in Nigeria’s volatile Niger Delta region, between security forces and rebels including the John Togo group in Warri, Delta state, and neighbouring communities. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Nigerian Red Cross Society are providing protection and assistance for people affected by the fighting.

The media delegate for the ICRC in Abuja, Robin Waudo, told Vatican Radio that many of the people displaced by the violence now have nowhere to go. “Some of the displaced [persons’] houses have been destroyed,” said Woudo, “so they don’t have homes to which to return.” Woudo went on to say that the Red Cross needs first and foremost to have safe access to people who are affected by the violence. “We continue to have a good ongoing dialogue with the military hierarchy of the joint task force,” said Woudo, “but we also need to be able to talk to the other side, in order to be able to access places that are out of the reach of the military as well.”

Listen to Robin Woudo’s extended interview with Charles Collins: