Abuja, Nov 15 (IANS)

 The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Thursday said that Nigeria had more than 17,000 asylum seekers in Chad, Cameroun and Niger due to the crisis in northeastern region.

Angele Dikongue-Atangana, UNHCR representative to Nigeria, told reporters here that the UNHCR was working in collaboration with those countries to ensure safety of the asylum seekers, Xinnua reported.

Dikongue-Atangana added that insecurity continued to top the list of the challenges for the UNHCR as thousands of people were continuously rendered homeless.

"The world is facing its most serious refugee crisis for almost 20 years, as conflicts continue to force tens and hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes," said the representative.

She said war remains the dominant cause for displacement as over half the world's refugees come from war affected countries.

"The humanitarian situation in west Africa has worsened notably due to insecurity, high unemployment rate as well as draught," said Dikongue-Atangana.