Mali: 20,000 flee after third week of fighting between Taureg groups and security forces

[News_Editor]

Mali: 20,000 flee after third week of fighting between Taureg groups and security forces

2012-02-08 08:09:31 GMT+7 (ICT)

BAMAKO, MALI (BNO NEWS) -- An estimated 20,000 people in Mali have been forced to flee their homes as fresh fighting between government troops and rebel Tuareg groups continue, the United Nations (UN) reported on Tuesday.

Fighting between the Tuareg liberation movement MNLA (Mouvement National de Liberation de l'Azawad) and government forces resumed on January 17, especially in the Azawad region of northern Mali, according to the UN refugee agency.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted that most of those uprooted by the violence in mid-January have fled to Niger, Burkina Faso and Mauritania. The violent clashes also broke a 2009 agreement that had officially ended the Tuareg rebellion.

UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva that, during the past three weeks, at least 10,000 people are reported to have crossed to Niger, 9,000 have found refuge in Mauritania, while 3,000 others fled to Burkina Faso.

Some of those who crossed into Niger have settled very close to the volatile border, Edwards said. Many of the new arrivals are sleeping in the open and have little access to shelter, clean water, health services, and food.

Although the majority 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.

UNHCR said it has sent several missions to the Hodh el Chargi region of Mauritania where over 9,000 people have arrived since January 25. The mainly ethnic Tuareg Malian refugees come from the region of Léré on the other side of the border.

Mauritanian authorities, along with the UNHCR, are taking care of the new arrivals, whose key needs include food, shelter and other basic items. The agency plans to field an emergency support team to boost its presence in the country.

In addition, UNHCR said it is also planning to send aid for 10,000 people from its stockpiles in the region, as well as additional staff to assist the displaced.

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