LAGOS, Sept 25 (Reuters) - International aid agency Mercy
Corps on Wednesday suspended its operations in two of the
northeastern Nigerian states worst hit by Islamist insurgents
after the army closed four of its offices in the region, the
organisation said in a statement.
A military source and an aid worker at the organisation,
both speaking on condition of anonymity, said the army closed
the offices on Wednesday after troops said they had found 29
million naira ($94,771) in cash being transported in
northeastern Borno state by a driver who said the money belonged
to Mercy Corps.
It comes days after the army forced another aid agency,
Action Against Hunger, to close its office in the region after
accusing it of aiding terrorist groups such as Boko Haram and
Islamic State. Northeast Nigeria has been blighted by a decade-long
insurgency led by militant group Boko Haram that has killed
30,000 people and forced two million to flee their homes. The
United Nations has said 7.1 million people in the region need
assistance in one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.