UNHCR renews Mali refugee aid appeal

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has renewed its appeal for international aid for an increasing number of displaced Malian people since crisis started in the West African country a year ago.

The UN agency said aid is needed to prevent what it calls the worsening of the now acutely fragile humanitarian situation across the Sahel region.

It said nearly 380,000 people have fled their homes to seek safety both inside and outside of Mali.

Chaos broke out in the African country after Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure was toppled in a military coup on March 22, 2012. The coup leaders said the move was in response to the government’s inability to contain the Tuareg rebellion in the north of the country.

“Since the start of the conflict in northern Mali a year ago, more than 150,000 refugees have fled to neighbouring Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso, while nearly 230,000 have sought safety in other areas inside Mali,” the UN agency said.

Earlier the UN reported that over 4,000 Malian refugees have arrived in Mauritania alone since January 11, when France launched a war on Mali under the pretext of halting the advance of fighters in the country.

The United States, Canada, Britain, Belgium, Germany, and Denmark have already said they would support the French war.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has also pledged to support the war by sending 5,800 soldiers to Mali.

Some political analysts believe that Mali’s abandoned natural resources, including gold and uranium reserves, could be one of the reasons behind the French war.