Thousands 'Stranded' Following Boko Haram Attack On Nigeria's Baga

Thousands of Nigerians are stranded on an island on the expansive Lake Chad following a Boko Haram assault on a military base in Nigeria's northeastern Baga town, a prominent rights campaigner has said.



"Over 1,000 displaced persons fleeing the Baga massacre are reportedly stranded on the island of Kangala on Lake Chad," Chidi Odinkalu, chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, said on his Twitter on Saturday.



Last week, Boko Haram militants staged a daring attack on the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in Baga, amid reports that the border town has fallen under the full control of the insurgents.



Following the attack, thousands of residents have reportedly fled the town and surrounding areas and sought refuge in neighboring Chad and Niger.



Odinkalu lamented the rise in the number of Nigerians becoming refugees in neighboring countries following militant attacks on their communities.



"In Niger, Refugees [group] is opening a second camp in Kablewa to decongest forage camp of Nigerian refugees in Diffa [in Niger's southeast] and new informal camp in Gagamari," he said.



"It's now estimated that the number of Nigerian refugees in and around Diffa in Niger Republic could be closer to 100,000," Odinkalu added.



On Friday, the Nigerian government said that the military is combating the "terrorists" to reclaim Baga town.



Tens of thousands of Nigerians have been killed since Boko Haram launched its violent campaign in 2009 following the extrajudicial murder of its leader, Mohammed Yusuf, while in police custody.



The group has also been blamed for the destruction of public infrastructure, private businesses and the displacement of at least six million Nigerians



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