Thousands missing in Africa due to conflict and migration

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says more than 40,000 people across Africa are registered as missing as a result of conflict, migration and climate shocks.

It says almost half of them are children.

Conflicts in Ethiopia, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Cameroon are having a big impact.

But the situation is most severe in north-east Nigeria and the coronavirus pandemic has made the job of finding missing relatives even harder.

In north-eastern Nigeria, the ICRC says more than 20,000 people are registered as missing.

Its teams are also searching for more than 5,000 people in South Sudan – they are trying to help mothers like Juma Kedai Korok whose son was abducted by an armed group four years ago. She hasn’t heard from him since.

The ICRC says there’s been an increase in the number of people whose relatives are missing in Libya – most of them young men who entered the country on the migration route to Europe.