DHAKA: The medical charity MSF said that almost 200 refugees escaped Boko Haram militants have starved to death over the past month in Bama, Nigeria.

A ‘catastrophic humanitarian emergency’ is unfolding at a camp it visited where 24,000 people have taken refuge, BBC reports on Thursday (June 23).

Many inhabitants are traumatized and one in five children is suffering from acute malnutrition, MSF said.

The Islamist group's seven-year rebellion has left 20,000 people dead and more than two million displaced.

Nigeria's military has carried out a large-scale offensive against them but Boko Haram still attacks villages in the north-east, destroying homes and burning down wells.

Displaced people in Bama say new graves are appearing on a daily basis, according to a statement from MSF.

It quoted inhabitants as saying about 30 people died every day due to hunger or illness.

Although the area has been unsafe to travel through, MSF said that one of its teams reached Bama on Tuesday.

BDST: 1406 HRS, June 23, 2016
SAS/RR