UN Says Around Four Million People Displaced Across Turbulent Sahel
Around four million people are now displaced across Africa’s Sahel region, the United Nations said Friday, with violence and insecurity driving increasing numbers from their homes.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, called for greater international support, saying the affected countries could not deal with the situation alone.
“About four million people are now displaced across Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and neighbouring countries — around two-thirds more than five years ago — reflecting insecurity, limited access to services and livelihoods, and the effects of climate change,” said Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, UNHCR’s regional director for West and Central Africa.
While 75 percent of those displaced remain within their own countries, cross-border movements are on the rise, putting pressure on host communities with “scant assistance” available, he told reporters in Geneva.
Women and children represent 80 percent of forcibly displaced people in the Sahel, Gnon-Konde said, adding the number of people impacted by pervasive gender-based violence had “significantly increased” this year.
“The insecurity across the region is exposing people to violence, forced recruitment, movement restrictions and arbitrary detention,” he said.
Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have been hit by violence from jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group for more than a decade.
