Mali: Urgent humanitarian help needed as war expands, wide reports of human rights abuses
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
UNHCR is renewing its appeal for an urgent scaling up of international aid for the hundreds of thousands of people now displaced by the war in Mali. This is to prevent a worsening of the now acutely fragile humanitarian situation across the Sahel.
Since the start of the conflict in northern Mali a year ago, more than 150,000 refugees have fled to neighbouring Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso, while nearly 230,000 have sought safety in other areas inside Mali.
In Bamako, Mali's capital, the number of internally displaced people is now estimated at close to 50,000. They are in poor neighbourhoods with little or no access to housing or vital services such as clean water, education and health.
From people fleeing the current fighting in the north of Mali, we continue hearing worrying accounts of atrocities said to have been committed by the Al-Qaeda-linked rebels.
A former resident of Gao, who left the town after recent air strikes, told us that food and fuel are in short supply. Armed groups have stripped the city hospital of medicines, and at the hospital dead bodies are said to be everywhere. Wounded fighters from these armed groups are being brought into the city, among the fighters many foreigners. The person we spoke to reported seeing a woman being executed summarily for refusing to show the contents of her bag to a fighter as she tried to board a bus. Amputations of hands or feet are used as punishments.
IDP families in Bamako told UNHCR that they had been uprooted by the conflict several times, fleeing ahead of the rebel advance. They lost most or all of their belongings and left relatives behind. Fighters are not preventing people from leaving the areas they control but they check their bags thoroughly and take away any food, money or valuables.
In neighbouring Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Niger, UNHCR is hearing similar accounts from newly-arrived refugees who we interview to determine protection and assistance needs. Children are reportedly being abducted from their families and made to fight for the rebels. Armed groups are also confiscating private vehicles - one of the reasons why refugees are traveling huge distances on foot or by donkey.
In Burkina Faso, many of the new arrivals are ethnic Tuareg and Arab women and children. They told us they fled for fear of becoming confused with the rebels, who are said to be trying to blend in with the civilian population.
Another reason for leaving northern Mali, according to the refugees, is the presence of bandits and militias from other ethnic groups. Food and other essentials are in short supply, with markets closed and shops empty.
Since 11 January, when the French military intervened to help the Malian army stop an offensive by extremist fighters, over 9,000 new refugees have fled the country and been registered and assisted by UNHCR and our partners in Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso.
According to UNHCR's latest registration figures, in the last 12 days (between 11 and 23 January), 5,486 Malian refugees arrived in Mauritania; 2,302 in Burkina Faso and 1,578 in Niger. They joined the 54,000 refugees in Mauritania, 50,000 in Niger, 38,800 in Burkina Faso and 1,500 in Algeria, who had fled earlier fighting. The latest arrivals bring the total number of Malian refugees in the region to over 150,000.
Some Malians fleeing northern Mali have gone through Niger and Burkina Faso, before reaching Bamako - a three-day journey reportedly costing some 60,000 CFA francs (approximately US$120).
There is consensus among most humanitarian organisations working in Mali that the humanitarian situation in the country was already at crisis point and deteriorating, even before the recent round of fighting.
The countries of the Sahel region have been facing severe drought conditions for years and are among the poorest in the world. UNHCR is appealing for urgently increased assistance for these countries to help them cope with the continuing arrival of thousands of terrorised, traumatised and destitute refugees from the war in Mali, most of them women and children.
UNHCR appealed last year for US$123.7 million for its Mali crisis operations, but has received only about 60 per cent of this amount. The most urgent needs are food, shelter, clean water, sanitation, health and education.
UNHCR Mali media team:
- Spokesperson: (Bamako) - Helene Caux +221 77 333 1291 [email protected]
- Regional Representative: (Bamako/Dakar) - Valentin Tapsoba - +221 77 529 5014
- Spokesperson: (Bamako) - William Spindler +33 623 316 11 78
- In Burkina Faso: Hugo Reichenberger on mobile + 226 66 61 94 94
- In Niger: Charlotte Arnaud on mobile + 227 92 19 19 03
- In Mauritania: Nada Merheb on mobile + 222 33 49 26 26
- In Geneva: Adrian Edwards on mobile +41 79 557 91 20
- Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba on mobile +41 79 249 3483
Related news and stories
Violence and threats by armed groups continue to displace refugees and civilians in Mali
UNHCR urges greater support as violence continues unabated in Burkina Faso
Displaced people from climate frontlines raise their voices at COP27
UN warns of worsening conflict and displacement in Sahel without immediate climate action
Thirty years of hope and higher education for refugees in West Africa
Refugee firefighters honoured for their bravery in protecting Mauritania's environment
Your search for « Mali conflict » matched 1368 results. Only the first 1,000 results are displayed. Displaying page 10 of 112 pages.
-
UNHCR's emergency response appeal for the Mali Situation - Revised Appeal - May 2012
May 2012 ... ... These include some 318,000 Malians who have been forcibly displaced due to the ongoing conflict in northern Mali, and it is likely that many more 8 may be displaced by the end of the year. The vast ...... -
Overview of UNHCR's operational strategies in Africa
19 Feb 2013 ... and Niger, while nearly 230,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) have sought safety in other areas of the country. Since January, an additional 23,000 refugees have fled the conflict in Mali. ...... -
Fighting in northern Mali forces thousands to flee their homes
29 May 2015 ... to Malian authorities. The newly-displaced join the ranks of over 43,000 internally displaced people throughout the country who have not yet returned to their homes since the conflict in 2012 ...... -
UNHCR supports participation of refugees in upcoming Mali elections
28 May 2013 ... Some 174,000 Malians have found refuge in neighbouring countries since current conflict erupted in the northern part of their country in January 2012. Burkina Faso hosts 50,000 refugees, Mauritania ...... -
Updates on budgets and funding for 2013 and reporting on 2012
12 Jun 2013 ... Requirements for the Mali situation, previously reduced, have been mostly reinstated due to an escalation of the conflict, resulting in a net reduction of $2.5 million only (as compared to the $32.6 ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2014-2015 - Engaging with IDPs
1 Dec 2013 ... been driven from their homes by the conflicts in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mali, and the Syrian Arab Republic (Syria). l l l U N H C R / P . ...... -
Malian refugee refuses forced marriage in favour of school
10 Jul 2018 ... 56,000 Malian refugees, mostly Tuareg and Arab cattle herders who lost their livelihoods as a result of the conflict. Widespread insecurity in northern Mali continues to trigger fresh displacement. ...... -
UNHCR uses drones to help displaced populations in Africa
21 Nov 2016 ... from their homes by wars and persecution, more than three million of them by conflicts in South Sudan, Nigeria and Mali that have caused widespread displacement both within and across national ...... -
World Refugee Day: Millions around the globe pay tribute to refugees
20 Jun 2012 ... that huge numbers had been displaced over the past 18 months due to a wave of conflicts in Côte d'Ivoire, Libya, Mali, Somalia, Sudan and Syria. "These numbers represent far more than statistics; ......