MALI: Number of displaced people triples in one year

The number of internally displaced people has tripled in Mali over the course of a year, according to the UN. One of the main reasons is the growing insecurity at the border with Burkina Faso. Half of those internally displaced in Mali – that’s 120,000 people – are in the region of Mopti. Most have […]

The number of internally displaced people has tripled in Mali over the course of a year, according to the UN.

One of the main reasons is the growing insecurity at the border with Burkina Faso.

Half of those internally displaced in Mali – that’s 120,000 people – are in the region of Mopti. Most have fled the south-eastern border with Burkina Faso and sought refuge in other parts of the region.

The UN says people are escaping worsening inter-communal violence and armed conflict. A third of those who left their homes did so between September and December last year. Armed conflict is also spreading from the north to central Mali and along the borders with Burkina Faso and Niger. Displaced people are confronted with difficult living conditions as temperatures in the Sahel rising faster than the global average. The UN estimates roughly 80% of farmland in the region is degraded even though a majority depend on livestock and agriculture.