UN: 1,932 Die in North-East Violence in Three Months
At least 1,932 people lost their lives in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states between April and June 2026, according to the latest humanitarian access snapshot released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The figure comes from data compiled by the Humanitarian Access Working Group drawing on records from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project and the United Nations Mine Action Service.
The snapshot identifies insecurity, violence against humanitarian workers and assets, bureaucratic bottlenecks and a harsh physical environment as the main factors limiting aid delivery in the three North East states during the quarter. Non state armed groups carried out regular attacks on towns and villages, particularly in Borno and northern Yobe, while main supply routes and secondary roads faced illegal vehicle checkpoints and explosive threats.
Explosive ordnance incidents fell to 60 from 67 recorded in the same period of 2025, a drop of 10.5 percent. Improvised explosive device incidents declined to 54 from 65, a 16.9 percent reduction. Civilian casualties linked to explosive ordnance and improvised explosive devices dropped sharply to 54 from 163, representing a 66.9 percent decrease. The report attributes the lower explosive related incidents partly to joint military operations by the Armed Forces of Nigeria and United States forces in northern and central Borno State. Civilians also moved less freely because of heightened insecurity.
Those same operations, however, prompted reprisal attacks by non state armed groups on Monguno, Damasak, Damboa, Bama, Konduga, Marte, Dikwa, Kukawa, Mobbar and Gwoza local government areas in Borno, as well as Gujba in Yobe and Madagali in Adamawa. Many of the affected communities hosted civilians recently relocated from other locations.
Health and nutrition partners suspended operations in Dapchi, Bursari Local Government Area, on 4 April after repeated attacks. Similar raids forced temporary halts in Madagali town and a scaling down of activities in Chibok in early April. Nigerian troops repelled an attack on Bazamri village in Konduga on 13 May and another on Alou Dam near Maiduguri on 31 May. Eleven airstrikes took place in Borno during the quarter, the most notable striking Jilli Market on the boundary between Gubio and Geidam on 12 April, with others concentrated in the Sambisa Forest and Mandara Mountains.
Attacks on humanitarian personnel and assets rose compared with the first quarter of 2026. A truck carrying supplies was attacked and looted near Gubio on 11 April. Two non governmental organisation staff were abducted in Monguno on 24 June. On 29 June troops repelled an assault on a truck returning from Damasak, though the driver suffered critical injuries after driving over an improvised explosive device near Kareto in Mobbar.
A bridge collapsed due to flooding in Rann town on 18 June amid forecasts of an early and above normal rainy season. The military ban on fertiliser transport without permits, intended to restrict materials for explosive devices, disrupted farmers ahead of the planting season. OCHA secured approvals for partners to move fertiliser to hard to reach areas. A fuel price spike linked to the United States Israel conflict with Iran further raised transport costs. On 1 June state authorities stopped a humanitarian truck and demanded extra cargo approvals.
State authorities continued closing camps for internally displaced persons and relocating residents. Some of those communities later faced renewed attacks, including Logamani in Ngala on 5 June 2026 after an earlier incident in October 2025, Kukawa town on multiple occasions between August 2025 and March 2026, Ngoshe in Gwoza and Marte town. Many such locations remain extremely hard to reach.
Partners also noted a pattern of excessive use of force by Civilian Joint Task Force members, ex combatants and vigilante groups in camps and host communities in Borno. The report warns that without urgent intervention these incidents risk wider insecurity and could undermine longer term stabilisation.
The North East conflict, now in its sixteenth year, continues to drive displacement and humanitarian need. Nearly 35 million Nigerians face acute food insecurity in the 2026 lean season, with 5.8 million of them in the three states. Global funding constraints compound the pressure on response efforts. Sustained military pressure has reduced some explosive threats, yet civilian protection, access for aid and careful management of returns remain pressing concerns as the rainy season advances and needs intensify.