UN: Nearly 130,000 displaced by Mali clashes

UN: Nearly 130,000 displaced by Mali clashes

2012-02-25 07:32:18 GMT+7 (ICT)

GENEVA, Switzerland (BNO NEWS) -- An estimated 130,000 people have been displaced since mid-January when clashes resumed between government forces and Tuareg rebels in northern Mali, the United Nations said on Friday.

UN officials said an estimated 60,000 Malians are internally displaced within Mali while the rest are in neighboring countries. The largest influx has been recorded in Niger with 28,858 arrivals, followed by 22,958 in Mauritania and 17,499 in Burkina Faso.

"More daily arrivals are being recorded in the neighboring countries as attacks continue throughout northern Mali, where an estimated 60,000 Malians are also internally displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance," spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is appealing for $35.6 million to respond to the growing humanitarian crisis. The appeal aims to cover the needs of 85,000 displaced people until at least July.

"The funds will be used by UNHCR to provide emergency assistance to the displaced in Mali and neighboring countries," Edwards said. "More daily arrivals are being recorded in the neighboring countries as attacks continue throughout northern Mali, where an estimated 60,000 Malians are also internally displaced and in need of humanitarian assistance."

The displaced are currently hosted in remote and arid border villages that are affected by the food crisis, a severe drought, and the general insecurity in the Sahel region. The refugees are in desperate need of adequate shelter, food, water and sanitation, healthcare and education.

The majority of those uprooted by the renewed clashes between the Malian army and the Azawad National Liberation Movement (MNLA) are ethnic Tuaregs from rural areas. There are also ethnic Songhai, Moor and Fulani.

The MNLA, which are in breach of a 2009 peace deal that had formally ended the Tuareg rebellion in Mali, took up arms last month to continue demanding independence for the country's northern region.

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