CAMEROON
NEW CROSS BORDER ATTACKS
Attacks of Nigerian insurgent group Boko Haram have caused further casualties and population displacements towards and inside Cameroon. On Dec. 28, insurgents crossing from Nigeria attacked several villages and temporarily took over the border town of Achigachia prompting Cameroonian airstrikes to push the militants back across the borders.
24,500 NIGERIAN REFUGEES IN MINAWAO CAMP
On 29 December, UNHCR has transferred 1,728 new Nigerian refugees in the Minawao camp bringing the total number of refugees in the camp to 24,500.
LIBERIA
SCHOOL TO RESUME IN FEBRUARY
The Government of Liberia announced, on 5 January. the reopening of schools in February. Schools have been closed for the last six months to help contain the Ebola outbreak. Ebola has killed over 3,400 people in Liberia.
MALI
8 PEACEKEEPERS WOUNDED IN ATTACK NEAR GAO
On 5 January, a vehicle transporting troops from the Niger contingent of the UN peacekeeping force struck an explosive device leaving eight peacekeepers wounded. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Mali condemned the attack and called on all parties involved in the ongoing peace process to prevent such attacks against peacekeepers.
ARMED GROUP ATTACKS ARMY CAMP
On 5 January, armed men attacked the army camp in the central town of Nampala, close to the Mauritanian border and some 500 km from the Malian capital Bamako, reportedly killing at least seven soldiers.
NIGERIA
THOUSANDS FLEE AFTER BAGA ATTACK
On 3 January, armed insurgents captured the town of Baga, close to Lake Chad in northeastern Nigeria. Baga also is the headquarters of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), recently involved in fighting the insurgency. Local sources report many casualties and the burning of hundreds of houses. Thousands of people have reportedly fled across the lake to neighbouring Chad and towards the capital of Borno State, Maiduguri.
REGIONAL / EBOLA VIRUS DISEASE (EVD) 20,381 CASES AND 7,989 DEATHS
As of 5 January, 20,381 confirmed, probable and suspected cases of EVD have been reported in the three most affected countries (Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone), resulting in a total 7,989 deaths.
