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The "brutality and frequency" of attacks in north-eastern Nigeria is unprecedented, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). The agency said that multiple kidnappings and deaths have caused people to flee their homes both inside Nigeria and into neighbouring countries. A quarter of a million people are now internally displaced, and around 60,000 others have fled to Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The agency has also been hearing reports of extreme violence, from people who show clear signs of distress and fear. Adrian Edwards is a spokesperson for UNHCR. � Some have witness friends or family members being singled out and killed openly in the streets. People speak of homes and fields being burned to the ground. Villages completely erased. Grenades being launched into crowded markets killing people and livestock and other serious alleged crimes. Mr Edwards said the 14 April abduction of more than 200 girls in a school in Borno State was just one in a series of similar kidnappings in the region in recent months. A state of emergency in Nigeria's north-eastern states was declared a year ago this month.