Seven women were trampled and killed while waiting for food to be distributed

Seven women were killed and four others injured when they were trampled on during a food distribution organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross in northeastern Nigeria, a medical worker and local residents said.

Thousands of people had gathered at the distribution site in the city of Monguno, Borno State. The crowd turned into chaos and many were trampled.

Monguno, about 140 kilometers from the regional capital, Maiduguri, is home to tens of thousands of displaced people who have fled their homes to escape jihadist rebels and live in makeshift camps.

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“We have taken to the hospital the bodies of seven women, as well as four others who were in critical condition,” said Belo Maicudi, a member of an anti-jihadist group involved in the rescue operation.

“All the victims are women. “Two of those injured are pregnant,” said a hospital source, who asked not to be named.

A Nigerian Red Cross spokeswoman, Fatima Sator, told AFP that food had indeed been distributed to pregnant or breastfeeding women. However, he did not specify the number of victims, nor the reasons that led to the accident.

The displaced people of Monguno, in order to survive, depend heavily on the food distribution of humanitarian organizations. The jihadist attacks, which began in 2009, have claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people in northeastern Nigeria and displaced 2 million.

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