APA-Bamako (Mali) By December 2023, the number of Burkinabe refugees fleeing to Mali had risen to over 20,000.
Since last December, Mali has been faced with a massive influx of Burkinabe refugees, with more than 40,000 people crossing the border, according to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (HCR).
The UN agency’s figures show that more than 500 Burkinabe have been crossing the border every day for more than three months, heading mainly for towns such as Koro, where more than 25,000 refugees have already been registered, as well as Mopti, Bandiagara, San and other towns in central Mali.
This growing humanitarian crisis is the result of the deteriorating security situation in the Sahel region, characterised by an increase in terrorist attacks and inter-community violence. Burkinabes are
fleeing this violence to seek refuge in Mali, but the situation there is not stable either, with an estimated 7.1 million people in humanitarian need in 2024.
The Malian authorities and humanitarian organisations on the ground are facing major challenges in terms of reception capacity, insufficient food and medical resources, and precarious living
conditions for many families.
Faced with this growing humanitarian crisis, the HCR and other humanitarian actors are launching an urgent appeal for international solidarity to provide much-needed assistance to Burkinabe refugees in
Mali. Meeting their basic needs in terms of food, water, shelter and medical care is crucial to averting a humanitarian catastrophe, according to the HCR, which also stresses the need to step up efforts
to find a lasting solution to the security crisis that is forcing these people to flee their country. It is calling on the international community to take concerted action to stabilise the Sahel region and ensure the safety of civilians, in order to put an end to the constant flow of refugees.
In the meantime, Burkinabe refugees continue to flood into Mali, hoping to find temporary refuge from the violence ravaging their country. Immediate action is needed to support them and offer them a
more secure future in the context of an ever-expanding humanitarian crisis.
In December 2023, the number of Burkina Faso refugees in Mali was estimated at 29,146.
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