17,000 people displaced by Boko Haram violence in Nigeria

A total of 17,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been registered as a result of the escalation of the attacks in northeastern Nigeria's state of Adamawa, a rescue agency spokesperson said Wednesday.

The Boko Haram has attacked targets almost every day for weeks and last week seized control of Mubi.

Sani Datti, an information officer with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) told reporters in Yola, the state capital, that more than 6,000 children were among the IDPs, according to Xinhua.

Datti said the agency and other partners were managing six major camps.

"We are still waiting for the arrival of some IDPs who ran into Cameroon during the recent attack on Mubi town and other towns," he added.

He appealed to IDPs, especially those living with either their relatives or host communities, to come out and register at the nearest camp, saying that the government had provided enough relief materials to cater to the needs of the IDPs.

In mid-October, the West African nation's government announced that it had secured a ceasefire deal with the Boko Haram and an agreement to release 219 schoolgirls abducted from their Borno school in mid-April.

However, a Boko Haram leader denied last week that there was a ceasefire and said the kidnapped schoolgirls have been "married off" to the group's fighters.

Since then, there have been reports of Boko Haram attacks and abductions, giving credence to speculation that the government was perhaps negotiating with an insignificant faction of the terrorist group.