Violence in northern Mali forces over 20,000 into exile
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR has deployed emergency teams to countries surrounding Mali to help meet the needs of some 20,000 people who have been forced to flee fighting in northern Mali. Most of the displaced are in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
Fighting between rebel Tuareg groups and governmental forces in the Azawad region of northern Mali began in mid-January.
In the past three weeks, at least 10,000 people are reported to have crossed to Niger, 9,000 have found refuge in Mauritania and 3,000 in Burkina Faso.
In Niger, most of the new arrivals are from Menaka in Mali. Some have settled very close to the volatile border. Many of the new arrivals are sleeping in the open and have little access to shelter, clean water, health services, and food. People are scattered mainly in villages in Tillaberery, Ouallam, and Filingue districts, in the north of the country. Sinegodar, a village in Tillabery district, is hosting over 5,500 Malians, with one sole water point for the entire refugee and local population.
While most of those who recently fled Mali are Malians, recent arrivals in Niger also include nationals of Niger who had been living in Mali for decades. Many have been crossing the border between the two countries regularly to find grazing land for their cattle.
Local communities along the border, affected by the food crisis themselves in the Sahel, are sharing their resources with the new arrivals. The authorities have also distributed food. Four additional UNHCR staff are already in Niger and more are on their way. We plan to send aid for 10,000 people from our stockpiles in the region.
Our office in Ouagadougou, in Burkina Faso also reported the arrival of some 3,000 Malian Tuaregs following attacks on their homes and businesses in the Malian capital Bamako and in the nearby town of Kati last week. Many of the new arrivals are staying with host families in Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso, 320 kilometres south-west of the capital. Other new arrivals have been reported in the north west of the country, especially near Djibo, in Soum province. An inter-agency mission, including UNHCR, is scheduled to go there by the end of the week to assess the needs of the people.
Meanwhile in Mauritania UNHCR has sent several missions to the village of Fassala, in the region of Hodh el Chargi 3km from the border with Mali, where over 9,000 people have arrived since 25th January. The mainly ethnic Tuareg Malian refugees come from the region of Léré on the other side of the border. They told UNHCR that they fled fighting between Government forces and rebel Tuareg fighters, fearing retaliation by army troops.
The Mauritanian authorities, with the support of UNHCR, are taking care of the new arrivals. Medical services are being offered by the local health clinics and water is being trucked in by the authorities. UNHCR Mauritania distributed 15-day food rations and non food items to cover the urgent needs of 5000 refugees in the refugee site of Fassala. Key needs identified are food, shelter and other basic items. UNHCR will strengthen its presence in Mauritania by fielding an emergency support team.
Fighting between the Tuareg liberation movement MNLA (Mouvement National de Liberation de l'Azawad) and governmental forces resumed on 17 January in Mali, breaking a 2009 agreement that had officially ended the Tuareg rebellion.
For further information on this topic, please contact:
- In Dakar: Helene Caux on mobile +221 77 333 12 91
- In Geneva: Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba on mobile +41 79 249 3483
- In Geneva: Sybella Wilkes on mobile +41 79 557 9138
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Mali Situation Update No. 8, 20 July 2012
20 Jul 2012 ... ... Sixty-two percent (63%) of refuges are 17 years old or younger, 34% are between the ages of 18 to 59, and 2% are older. Fifty-five percent are female and 90% are of Tuareg origins. The remainder (10%) ...... -
Mali Situation Update No. 12, 1 November 2012
14 Nov 2012 ... ... Teams were set up on gender, age and diversity criteria (AGDM) and included persons with specific needs. Participating communities were Tuareg, Peul, Zerma, Sonrhaï, Arabic, Hausa, Bambara, Daoussack ...... -
Mali Situation Update No. 7, 4 July 2012
4 Jul 2012 ... ... Sixty-two percent (62%) of refuges are 17 years old or younger, 35% are between the ages of 18 to 59, and 3% are older. Fifty-four percent are female and 90% are of Tuareg origins. The remainder (10%) ...... -
Opening Statement by Mrs. Sadako Ogata, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the Forty-seventh Session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme (ExCom), 7 October 1996
7 Oct 1996 ... ... I should make specific mention also of Mali, where the ethnic dimensions of conflict did not preclude reconciliation, and where we helped this year some 50,000 Tuareg refugees to repatriate. This year ...... -
Remarks by Mr. Gerald Walzer, Deputy United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner's Programme (ExCom), Geneva, 28 April 1998
28 Apr 1998 ... ... The repatriation programme of primarily Tuareg refugees to Mali and Niger is taking place as planned and will be completed by the end of June 1998. So far, 126,000 Malians have been repatriated, while ...... -
Strategic overviews: Middle East and North Africa
6 Mar 2012 ... ... number of persons benefiting from training events in 2012. In Mauritania, some 33,000 Malian refugees, mainly Tuaregs, have fled across the border as a result of the recent wave of violence in Mali. ...... -
UNHCR Mid-Year Progress Report 2002 - West and Central Africa Regional Overview
1 Sep 2002 ... ... UNHCR continued to provide protection to 6,000 Mauritanian refugees located in the area of Kayes. The four-year reintegration program of Tuareg returnees in Niger was completed at the end of June ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2016-2017 - Working in partnership
1 Dec 2015 ... ... An artisan project in Burkina Faso with Malian Tuareg refugees has drawn interest from private-sector companies abroad wishing to purchase and sell their products. UNHCR also partners with ...... -
UNHCR Inspection and Evaluation Activities
22 Jul 1998 ... ... Review of efforts to reorient European offices away from individual casework; (iii) Review of Tuareg repatriation efforts; (iv) Review of UNHCR’s efforts to minimize the social and economic ......