UNHCR urgently reinforcing staff and resources for Mali in anticipation of further new displacement

Briefing Notes, 18 January 2013

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 18 January 2013, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

As military operations continue in northern Mali, UNHCR is reinforcing its teams across the region to assist the internally displaced persons and refugees. Yesterday (Thursday) our budget committee met to approve deployment of dozens of specialists. In Burkina Faso, we have sent staff from Ouagadougou to monitor the border and to boost assistance in the refugee camps in Burkina's Sahel administrative region. Our new planning basis allows for additional displacement of up to 300,000 people inside Mali and 407,000 into neighbouring countries.

As of yesterday, displacement across borders has been rising steadily – with 2,744 Malian refugees now having arrived in neighbouring countries since fighting and airstrikes started on January 10. Of these 1,411 are in Mauritania while Burkina Faso has received 848 new refugees and Niger 485. Including these numbers and those displaced since the Mali crisis started a year ago there are now 147,000 Malian refugees in neighbouring countries (55,221 in Mauritania, 52,875 in Niger, 38,776 in Burkina Faso, an estimated 1,500 in Algeria, 26 in Guinea, and 20 in Togo). At the same time, close to 229,000 people are now displaced inside Mali according to the Commission on Population Movements, including some 8,700 who have fled the north to safer areas (mainly Bamako).

In Burkina Faso a UNHCR team visited the entry point of Inabao on Wednesday, in Sahel region and only a few kilometres from the border with Mali. They found that some 265 Malian refugees had crossed in the past days from Intahaka, N'Tillit and Dorage towns and surroundings areas in the Gao area of northern Mali. The refugees said they fled the recent military intervention, the lack of any means of subsistence, and fear of the strict application of Sharia law. They reported having witnessed executions and amputations, and mentioned that large amounts of money are being offered to civilians to fight against the Malian Army and its supporters. According to the accounts from refugees there are children among the rebel fighters. People spoke of family members having disappeared.

Refugees are reaching Burkina Faso using public transportation, paying the equivalent of $US50 for the trip – for many, equivalent to more than a months earnings. New arrivals are mainly Tuareg women and children. They said that more people, including their husbands and fathers, are on their way to Burkina Faso by foot, many using donkeys or local transport, and many bringing livestock with them. Despite on-going insecurity in northern Mali in recent months, they say that people have delayed fleeing Mali to allow the men to take care of businesses and animals.

Newly arrived refugees in Burkina Faso are being transported further inland to Goudebou camp, for their safety and because of proximity to the border. For the same reasons we are continuing relocation of people away from camps and sites at Ferrerio and Gandafabou. Refugees are being moved to camps near the towns of Dori and Djibo. As of today, we have relocated 4,169 Malian refugees in 14 UNHCR convoys to camps near Dori and Djibo towns. Some 6000 others remain to still be moved.

In Niger, refugees who fled their homes last year and are staying in UNHCR-managed camps are telling us that they are worried about family members who have remained in northern Mali, including in the Menaka, Anderamboukane, and Ansongo areas. Most of the new arrivals have been at the Mangaize and Tabareybarey camps, as well as in Banibangou and Tillia areas. Refugees say people in conflict areas are having difficulties leaving because of a lack of transportation. Truck drivers fear being mistaken by military airplanes for rebel groups moving from Mali to Niger. Refugees say that hopes that the new military intervention will be short-lived are causing some to wait instead of fleeing. Meanwhile, UNHCR continues to provide help to the 52,875 refugees in camps and sites in Mangaize, Banibangou, Ayorou, Abala and Tillia areas.

For further information on this topic, please contact:

  • In Dakar (regional) Helene Caux on mobile + 221 77 333 1291
  • 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 Paris: William Spindler on mobile: +33 62 316 1178
  • In Geneva: Adrian Edwards on mobile +41 79 557 91 20
• DONATE NOW •

 

• GET INVOLVED • • STAY INFORMED •

Related Stories

more documents

UNHCR country pages

Mali Crisis: Urgent Appeal

More than 300,000 Malians have been forced to abandon homes in the hope of finding safety. Help us protect them.

Donate to this crisis

The Most Important Thing – Malian Refugees in Burkina Faso

"The Most Important Thing" documents - in words and pictures - some of the tough decisions people face when they have to flee their home. With support from UNHCR, American photographer Brian Sokol began the project in South Sudan, taking portraits of Sudanese refugees carrying the most valuable possession they brought with them into exile. He also asked them to explain their decision. Sokol continued with Syrian refugees in Iraq and in this photo essay looks at Malians in refugee camps in neighbouring Burkina Faso. While the photographs may reveal a fair amount about the subjects, it is their words - their stories - that share far more.

For the Sudanese, the most important things were primarily objects to keep them alive during their long, difficult journey: a pot, an axe, a water jug or a basket. For Syrians, the objects were largely sentimental: an old ring, a torn photograph, the key to a door that may no longer exist. Among the Malians depicted in this photo gallery, the objects largely had to do with their cultural identity. They spoke of how the items helped them to still feel part of their people, despite being forced into exile.

The Most Important Thing – Malian Refugees in Burkina Faso

Relocation from the Border Country of Burkina Faso

The process of relocating refugees from one site to a safer one is full of challenges. In Burkina Faso, the UN refugee agency has been working with partner organizations and the government to move thousands of Malian refugee families away from border sites like Damba to a safer camp some 100 kilometres to the south. Working under hot and harsh conditions, the aid workers had to dismantle shelters and help people load their belongings onto trucks for the journey. The new site at Mentao is also much easier to access with emergency assistance, including shelter, food, health care and education. These images, taken by photographer Brian Sokol, follow the journey made by Agade Ag Mohammed, a 71-year-old nomad, and his family from Damba to Mentao in March. They fled their home in Gao province last year to escape the violence in Mali, including a massacre that left two of his sons, a brother and five nephews dead. As of mid-April 2013 there were more than 173,000 Malian refugees in neighbouring countries. Within the arid West African nation there are an estimated 260,000 internally displaced people.

Relocation from the Border Country of Burkina Faso

UNHCR and Partners Tackle Malnutrition in Mauritania Camp

The UN refugee agency has just renewed its appeal for funds to help meet the needs of tens of thousands of Malian refugees and almost 300,000 internally displaced people. The funding UNHCR is seeking is needed, among other things, for the provision of supplementary and therapeutic food and delivery of health care, including for those suffering from malnutrition. This is one of UNHCR's main concerns in the Mbera refugee camp in Mauritania, which hosts more than 70,000 Malians. A survey on nutrition conducted last January in the camp found that more than 13 per cent of refugee children aged under five suffer from acute malnutrition and more than 41 per cent from chronic malnutrition. Several measures have been taken to treat and prevent malnutrition, including distribution of nutritional supplements to babies and infants, organization of awareness sessions for mothers, increased access to health facilities, launch of a measles vaccination campaign and installation of better water and sanitation infrastructure. Additional funding is needed to improve the prevention and response mechanisms. UNHCR appealed last year for US$144 million for its Mali crisis operations in 2013, but has received only 32 per cent to date. The most urgent needs are food, shelter, sanitation, health care and education.

The photographs in this set were taken by Bechir Malum.

UNHCR and Partners Tackle Malnutrition in Mauritania Camp

Mauritania: Mali Elections In Mauritania Play video

Mauritania: Mali Elections In Mauritania

Hundreds of Malian refugees voted in exile at the weekend in the presidential election in their home country, way down on the numbers eligible to cast a ballot.
Mali: Going Back Home Play video

Mali: Going Back Home

A trickle of displaced Malians undertake the journey back to their towns and villages.
Mali: Waiting to ReturnPlay video

Mali: Waiting to Return

After spending months in the central Mali town of Mopti, hundreds of displaced families are anxious to go back to their homes in the north. But security is still a concern.