The United Nations Thursday night announced that it has temporarily suspended humanitarian assistance missions in Nigeria “pending review of the security situation.”

It said in a statement issued in New York and made available to News Express by e-mail: “Today unknown assailants attacked a humanitarian convoy that included staff from UNICEF, UNFPA and IOM. The convoy was traveling from Bama to Maiduguri in Borno State, Nigeria, returning from delivering desperately needed humanitarian assistance.

“UNICEF can confirm that a UNICEF employee and an IOM contractor were injured in the attack and are being treated at a local hospital. All other UNICEF, IOM and UNFPA staff are safe.

“The convoy was in a remote area of northeastern Nigeria, where protracted conflict has caused extreme suffering and has triggered a severe malnutrition crisis. This was not only an attack on humanitarian workers. It is an attack on the people who most need the assistance and aid that these workers were bringing.

“The United Nations has temporarily suspended humanitarian assistance missions pending a review of the security situation.”