Refugees stranded in desert

Some 70,000 refugees from Mali are living in difficult conditions in the middle of the Mauritanian desert, with ethnic tensions in northern Mali quashing any hopes of a swift return home. A report released today by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), called Stranded in the desert, calls on aid organizations to urgently renew efforts to meet the refugees’ basic needs. The report, based on testimonies collected from more than 100 refugees in Mbera refugee camp in Mauritania, examines the reasons for the refugees fleeing and reveals the underlying complexity of the crisis in neighbouring Mali. While the crisis could last for months or even years, the refugees face a future of isolation in the middle of the desert, totally dependent on outside assistance and humanitarian aid. “In northern Mali, entire communities are currently displaced within their country or have escaped abroad as refugees,” says Henry Gray, emergency coordinator for MSF. “Most of the refugees are from the Tuareg and Arab communities. They fled pre-emptively, often for fear of violence due to their presumed links with Islamist or separatist groups. Their home in northern Mali is still in the grip of fear and mistrust.” MSF has been working in Mauritania since the arrival of the first refugees in early 2012, and has frequently warned of the alarming consequences to the refugees’ health as a result of the appalling living conditions in Mbera camp. In November 2012, MSF conducted a retrospective nutri...
Source: MSF News - Category: Global & Universal Tags: Mauritania Mali Frontpage NEWS Source Type: news