The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Thursday expressed concern over the growing number of people displaced by violence in Niger's border areas with Mali and Burkina Faso.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th December, 2018) The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Thursday expressed concern over the growing number of people displaced by violence in Niger's border areas with Mali and Burkina Faso."The UN Refugee Agency is becoming increasingly troubled by ongoing violence in Niger's border areas with Mali and Burkina Faso, which has forced 52,000 Nigeriens to flee their homes this year alone ... Those displaced report fleeing horrific violence. Armed groups are said to be attacking villages, killing and abducting civilians, including community leaders, burning schools and looting homes, businesses and livestock," the UNCHR said in a statement.
The violence also hampers humanitarian deliveries to the affected areas, the UN refugee agency stressed.
"The situation is both alarming and extremely volatile. In addition to causing new displacement, the violence is also affecting 53,000 Malian refugees who are living in the Tillaberi and Tahoua regions. Some have told UNHCR staff that they are considering fleeing northwards, to other countries," the UNHCR added.
The UNHCR went on to call on the international community to contribute more to its relief response as only 58 percent of its appeal has been funded in 2018, which amounts to $54 million.
Niger is one of the least developed countries in the world with the poorest social, economic and development indicators, according to the United Nations Development Program's (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI). Volatile situation in such neighboring countries as Libya, Nigeria and Mali as well as internal conflict in Niger's certain regions are among the key factors affecting the migration situation in the country.
Currently, there are over 150,000 internally displaced people in Niger, according to the UNHCR figures, while the country also hosts more than 175,000 refugees from Nigeria, Mali and other states.
