“The UN
refugee agency, citing government figures, on Friday said renewed
fighting between armed groups in the Gao, Mopti and Timbuktu areas of
northern Mali in the past four weeks has led to some 57,000 people
fleeing their homes.”
“[UNHCR
spokesman William Spindler] explained that the newly-displaced join
the ranks of more than 43,000 internally displaced people throughout
the country who have not yet returned to their homes since the
conflict in 2012 between governmental forces and various rebel
groups. The total number of internally displaced people (IDP) in Mali
stands now at just over 100,000, mainly in the northern part of the
country. The deterioration in the security situation came days after
the signing of a May 15 peace agreement between the government and
several armed groups in the Mali capital, Bamako. Those hardest hit
live in the Timbuktu Region, where more than 53,000 IDPs have been
registered.”
“Malian
refugees had been slowly but consistently returning home from Burkina
Faso, Mauritania and Niger until the latest violence flared up. The
Mali government estimates that 35,232 refugees have returned home
since 2013. UNHCR has verified 16,500 of them, of whom 1,121 have
returned since January this year. [...] Some 137,500 Malians remain
refugees in neighbouring countries, including 33,400 in Burkina Faso,
52,000 in Mauritania, and some 50,000 in Niger.”
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