Abuja, 2 May 2018 - The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, has condemned the twin suicide attacks on 1 May in the town of Mubi, Adamawa State, north-east Nigeria, that have left dozens of people dead and scores injured in one of the deadliest attacks the town has witnessed.

"Civilians are consistently bearing the brunt of this conflict and I urge the Government of Nigeria to step up the protection of innocent people," said Mr Kallon. "Close to 200 women, children and men have now been killed in brutal and indiscriminate attacks by non-state armed groups in the north-east since the beginning of the year, including in the town of Bama last month in Borno State. Our deepest condolences go to the families of the victims and we wish the injured a speedy recovery."

Mubi, the second largest town in the state with approximately 175,000 inhabitants, is a major market town in the region with close trading ties to neighboring Cameroon. Six international non-profit organisations are providing humanitarian aid, including food, safe water and sanitation facilities, to over 10,000 internally displaced persons and thousands of other vulnerable people in and around the town. Aid organisations also use Mubi as an operational centre to deliver aid in the northern parts of Adamawa State and the southern parts of adjacent Borno State. The town was briefly taken over by a non-state armed group in October 2014.

The humanitarian crisis in Nigeria's north-east, that has spilled over into the Lake Chad region, is one of the most severe in the world today, with 7.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2018 in the worst-affected states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe, and 6.1 million targeted for humanitarian assistance.