Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Chanchanji ward in Takum Local Government Area of Taraba State on Thursday appealed to government at all levels and humanitarian organisations for urgent assistance following renewed attacks on their communities.

The displaced residents, who fled their homes amid ongoing violence, said they are in critical need of food, temporary shelter and medical supplies.

Their appeal comes barely a week after Catholic priests in southern Taraba staged a peaceful protest over the continued killings and displacement of Christian farmers in the area.

Speaking on behalf of the IDPs, community leader Stephen Kajo described the persistent attacks as devastating, noting that many residents have been left traumatised and economically stranded.

“Our communities have been attacked repeatedly since September. Many lives have been lost. Houses were burnt and our farms destroyed. Our people had no option but to run for safety,” he said.

Kajo called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the North East Development Commission (NEDC) and the Taraba State Emergency Management Agency (TSEMA) to urgently provide food items, temporary shelter materials, medical supplies and other relief materials.

“We ran with nothing. We depend on goodwill to eat. Life here is very difficult,” he added.

The displaced persons also urged the state and federal governments to strengthen security operations in the area to halt further killings and enable their safe return to their ancestral homes.

“We respectfully appeal to the government at all levels to strengthen security deployment and take decisive steps to end these attacks. We want protection. We want peace. We want to return home safely,” another camp leader said.

Some of the IDPs expressed dissatisfaction with what they described as inadequate response from the Taraba State Government to the crisis.

“We don’t feel the presence of government here. Over 200 people have been killed since September last year, but government is not doing anything to stop the killings,” one resident alleged.

An elderly farmer, Pa Aondona Hemba, said he lost both his home and source of livelihood in the violence.

“I lost my house and my farm. Everything is gone. I don’t know when we will return. We just want peace in our land,” he lamented.

Youth leader Mr. Iorliam Tersoo also said fear and uncertainty now define daily life in the camps.

“We are afraid. We need security so that we can go back and rebuild our lives. We cannot continue living like this,” he said.

The displaced residents stressed that urgent humanitarian support and decisive security intervention are essential to restoring normalcy and dignity in their troubled communities.