Tens of thousands have fled unrest in Mali. Where have they gone and who is helping them?
DAKAR (AlertNet) - Fighting in northern Mali between rebels seeking an independent homeland for nomadic Tuareg people and the Malian army has forced up to 65,000 people to flee their homes.
Here is an update of the humanitarian impact of the conflict which erupted in mid-January.
How many people have been uprooted and where are they?
Tens of thousands of people have fled Mali. They have mainly sought safety in neighbouring Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
Nearly 12,000 people have fled to Mauritania, over 8,000 have sought refuge in Burkina Faso and between 10,000 and 15,000 have crossed the border into neighbouring Niger, aid agencies say.
While most of those who recently fled Mali are Malians, the UNHCR says recent arrivals in Niger also include nationals of Niger who had been living in Mali for decades.
Are there people displaced inside Mali?
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says 30,000 people are internally displaced within Mali and living in dire conditions. The majority - about 26,000 - have fled clashes in the town of Menaka in the region of Gao.
"People are fleeing the violence in large numbers, in great haste, and in utter destitution," Juerg Eglin, the head of the ICRC's regional delegation for Niger and Mali, said this week.
"Some of them were taken in by host families, but most have had to build some kind of improvised shelter under the scorching sun of this semi-desert region."
What do the internally displaced and the refugees need?
Aid agencies say the key needs for the displaced people are food, water, sanitation, healthcare and shelter.
“Refugees currently have no access to drinking water, food, latrines, or proper shelter, and (they) have no access to basic healthcare,” Benoit Kayembe, head of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in Niger, said in a statement.
What has been the response from aid groups?
The UNHCR says it has purchased 1,200 tents for Mauritania, another 2,000 for Niger and 500 for Burkina Faso. These will be flown from stockpiles in Cameroon and Ghana to the areas where refugees are arriving. Trucks will also be transporting basic relief items such as sleeping mats, blankets, jerrycans, mosquito nets and kitchen sets.
MSF has sent an emergency team to evaluate people’s medical needs in the town of Tchinagodar in northern Niger. The medical charity says it will soon begin providing primary healthcare and referrals, screening and treatment for malnutrition, vaccinations for children, and healthcare for pregnant women.
In Mauritania, the UNHCR and local authorities have been working to provide refugees with food, clean water and shelter. The UNHCR has sent several convoys of food items, medical services are being offered by the local health clinics and the authorities are trucking water in.
In Burkina Faso, UNHCR has released aid from its local stocks to be distributed to Malian refugees as well as host communities in the arid northern region of the country.
The Mali Red Cross made an emergency delivery of food for 600 displaced people whose situation was particularly worrying in the Aguelhoc area in northern Mali. The ICRC and the Mali Red Cross plan to distribute food, tarpaulins, blankets, sleeping mats, buckets, kitchen utensils and hygiene items to the displaced in the area.
MSF says it has sent a team to northern Mali to evaluate the situation of displaced people. However, aid groups are concerned about the security situation in that area.
The medical relief group Medecins du Monde suspended its operations in northern Mali this week due to insecurity.
Could the northern Mali crisis have an impact on the looming food crisis in the Sahel?
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said this week that 11 million are facing severe hunger in the Sahel region, which includes Mali and the countries now hosting Malian refugees.
People fleeing Mali are settling in places in Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso where the local populations are already hard hit by food shortages. The influx will put pressure on limited food, water and sanitation.
“We’re in emergency mode," MSF’s Kayembe said. "The Tillabery region (in northern Niger) was already facing an uncertain situation in terms of food security, and this is being exacerbated by the arrival of thousands of refugees,” he added.
Aid groups are also concerned that the conflict could make it harder to reach vulnerable people in Mali in need of food and other assistance.
“Access to children in need of care for malnutrition is vital and anything that slows down response to children needing help puts their lives at risk,” says Martin Dawes, the regional spokesman for the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Sources: UNHCR, OCHA, ICRC, MSF, MdM, FAO, UNICEF
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
