More than 66,000 Nigerians have fled violence and insecurity in the north of the country and crossed into neighbouring Niger and Benin since the start of 2026, the United Nations refugee agency has said.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in an alert on Thursday that arrivals in the two countries are three times higher than during the same period in 2025. Niger has received nearly 60,000 of the new arrivals, including more than 36,000 in the Tahoua region in just two months.

Thousands still unregistered

More than 34,000 recent arrivals have not yet been registered, leaving them at heightened risk and struggling to access assistance, the agency said. Niger's Tahoua and Diffa regions host the largest share of the newly arrived refugees and asylum-seekers, placing considerable pressure on reception capacity and basic services.

"Over 34,000 recent arrivals remain unregistered, leaving them at heightened risk and struggling to access essential assistance," UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun said in Geneva.

A $2 million appeal

UNHCR is appealing for $2 million to cover priority needs between November 2026 and January 2027. The agency plans to register and provide identity documents to more than 44,000 people in Niger and Benin, and to assist 52,000 people inside Nigeria.

The appeal comes as funding for the wider humanitarian response in the central Sahel remains far short of what is needed. At the end of September, the response was funded at only 27 per cent of the $329.6 million required, according to UN figures.