UN chief visits Sahel's 'martyred' refugees

UN chief Antonio Guterres visited a displaced people's camp in Niger, where he appealed for humanitarian and military aid for an impoverished country battling jihadist insurgents.

Guterres travelled to the camp at Ouallam in the southwest of the country on a trip to West Africa delayed by the crisis in Ukraine.

He met with several dozen displaced people and refugees from Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso in a school courtyard at the camp.

He said he had chosen to end his two-day visit to Niger "with the martyred population of Ouallam", a town in the Tillaberi border region which has been badly hit by jihadists.

"You can count on me to call on the international community to provide strong support for the Nigerien army so that it is better able to protect you," Guterres said.

He also appealed for help for the Nigerien people and refugees, providing resources that opened the way for "schools for everyone and hospitals which work."

Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali are struggling with a jihadist insurgency that erupted in northern Mali in 2012 and spread to its neighbours three years later.

Thousands of people have died and more than two million have fled their homes, in three countries that rank among the poorest in the world.

In the case of Niger, the country is facing a dual security crisis.