The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has raised fresh concerns over the worsening security situation in the Lake Chad Basin, revealing that more than 3.5 million people have been forcibly displaced across Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria as violence continues to devastate communities.
The agency warned that the region is nearing a “dangerous tipping point,” with escalating attacks by armed groups, rising humanitarian needs and shrinking access to affected populations threatening to deepen one of Africa’s longest-running displacement crises.
Speaking during a press briefing in Geneva on Friday, UNHCR Deputy Director for the West and Central Africa Bureau, Andrew Wyllie, disclosed that no fewer than 8.2 million people across the Basin now require urgent humanitarian assistance.
According to the agency, insecurity has surged dramatically, with security incidents increasing by 80 per cent between January 2024 and April 2026.
UNHCR said nearly 1,800 security incidents and more than 5,700 deaths were recorded between September 2025 and May 2026, citing attacks on civilians, kidnappings, killings, bomb explosions, village raids and clashes involving armed groups.
The agency identified Borno State as the epicentre of the humanitarian crisis, noting that persistent attacks by non-state armed groups, ongoing military operations and growing insecurity along major roads and displacement routes continue to force thousands of families to flee their homes.
It added that the deteriorating security situation has spread beyond the North-East, with displacement and violence increasingly affecting communities in the North-West and parts of the Middle Belt.
UNHCR further disclosed that more than 77,500 people have been newly displaced across the four countries since January 2026.
The figure includes over 16,000 Nigerians who fled attacks in the North-East into Niger’s Diffa Region, where humanitarian agencies are currently providing emergency relief.
The agency warned that insecurity is increasingly spilling across international borders, with attacks in one country triggering fresh waves of displacement in neighbouring states.
According to UNHCR, persistent attacks continue to destabilise Cameroon’s Far North Region, while renewed violence and military operations in Chad’s Lac Province have displaced about 60,000 people, forcing authorities to declare a state of emergency in May.
The humanitarian agency also painted a grim picture of the protection crisis facing civilians, revealing that one in every five households surveyed no longer feels safe within their own communities.
It warned that women and girls face heightened risks of sexual and gender-based violence, while specialised protection services remain grossly overstretched.
The UN agency added that reports of violence have continued to rise, with the proportion of people who know survivors of violence increasing from 19 per cent in 2025 to 27 per cent this year, despite widespread underreporting.
Children, it said, have also borne a heavy burden of the conflict, with about half of school-age children in the worst-hit communities no longer attending school. In Chad’s Lac Province, more than 78 per cent of children are out of school.
UNHCR also reported growing concerns over family separation, stating that one in four respondents identified separated or unaccompanied children in their communities, with the figure rising to one in three in Cameroon’s Far North.
Despite the worsening crisis, Wyllie commended governments across the region for keeping their borders open to people fleeing violence and for supporting displaced populations.
He said, “UNHCR is working with them across all four countries to assist people fleeing violence, monitor risks, support new arrivals and ensure families can access documentation, assistance and, where conditions allow, pathways to return, reintegration and recovery.”
However, the agency warned that humanitarian operations are being stretched beyond capacity by rising needs and dwindling resources.
Wyllie appealed for an additional $29 million to sustain UNHCR’s operations through December 2026, saying the funds are critical to maintaining life-saving protection and humanitarian assistance in high-risk areas.
