More than 40,000 Burkinabe have arrived in Mali since last December, with others continuing to arrive by the hundreds every day, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). These families are fleeing from Burkina Faso, which is afflicting the country with the pace of violence: a significant peak has been recorded since the beginning of March 2024. But Burkinabe refugees arriving in Mali are themselves victims of insecurity and are struggling to cope. Meet all the needs of these newcomers.
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According to figures from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 500 Burkinabes have been entering Mali every day for more than three months.
Mostly women and children, these refugees are heading to Koro – on the other side of the border and where more than 25,000 refugees are already registered – but also to Mopti, Bandiagara, San and other areas in central Mali. Some Escape from terrorist attacksAnother Burkinabe army operation and its subsidiary Organizations for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) volunteers, who are trained by villagers recruited by the army to contribute to the fight against terrorism.
Welcomed into families
The UNHCR representative in Mali, Mohamed Askia Touré, warns about the reception conditions for the 40,000 Burkinabe refugees who have arrived in the past three months.
” It is enormous! 40,000 people is equivalent to a medium-sized city “, he begins by asking before giving the details: ” They are first welcomed into the host population, into families. We must show their great generosity, their big heart, because often the authorities cannot respond to the needs of this population who come in very large numbers. The humanitarian community is unfortunately very little present due to insecurity, and we don’t have camps (From Refugees, Editor’s Note) established. The needs are immense, immeasurable. First in physical needs: these refugees need water, shelter, care and food. »
Also readA damning report from HRW for the Burkinabe Army surrounding drone attacks on civilians
” We were given mats, buckets, but no food »
These Burkinabe refugees mainly come from the provinces of Somme, Yetenga and Leraba bordering Mali.
Moussa is from Diko (name changed for security reasons). From Boro village near Jibo, where the massacre took place last December. Was it by a terrorist group or by soldiers operating in the area at the time? There has been no claim or concrete evidence to support the identity of the attackers.
After fleeing, Moussa Dikko reached Mali and the city of Sevare in February:
” People came to kill people in our villageHe remembers. There were motorbikes, cars, they were armed, but we don’t know who they were. They killed many men, women, children… they killed people. In my family, not everyone made it out. My mother, one of my sisters and one of my brothers survived. Others, they killed them. In my family alone, they killed 25 people. So we fled, we could not stay. We passed through Douna, in Burkina, then through Koro in Mali, and now we are in Sevare, where we found family. But we need food and shelter. Since our arrival, we have filled out the paperwork, we have been given mats, buckets, but no food. »
Moussa Dikko, Burkinabe refugee, explains why he had to leave his city for Mali
There is insecurity on both sides of the border
There is also a lack of care: some refugees, including children, were rushed to hospital after being injured in attacks on their villages. Others are shocked by the horrors they experience.
However, these Burkinabe refugees Not safe from facing horror again : Central Mali itself is the scene of regular attacks by members of the Support Group for Islam and Muslims (Jenim, affiliated with al-Qaeda) and operations by the Malian army and its auxiliaries, Wagner.
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