Thousands flee Boko Haram attacks around Nigeria's Chibok

Some 7 000 people have fled from villages around the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok because of Boko Haram attacks, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday.
The IOM said an estimated 4 449 people or 740 households have fled to Chibok itself since February 25, “seeking safety following attacks or threats of attacks in some neighbouring villages”.
“These movements are in addition to the estimated 300 people who fled to Chibok town around February 10,” it added in a briefing document.
“The staff also report that approximately 2 000 individuals fled from Kaya village, near Chibok town, to (the nearby town of) Damboa recently, in search of safety.”
Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency has left at least 20 000 people dead in northeast Nigeria since it began in 2009 and has displaced more than 2.6 million others.
Chibok became a global symbol of the conflict after the militants kidnapped more than 200 teenage girls from their school in the town in April 2014. Most are still being held.
Despite a military fight-back, villages near Chibok, which is 125km by road from the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, have seen a wave of suspected Boko Haram attacks.