Mali, there is alarm for displaced people in the north of the country: thousands are forced to flee amidst wars and a mad climate

ROME – The political and social situation in Mali. The country is grappling with one of the most serious displaced crises in the entire African continent, together with Niger and Burkina Faso. The problem of internal travel arises from two factors: the first is constituted by inter-community conflicts over land and natural resources, especially in the Northern and Central regions. The second from political instability, a direct consequence of the 2012 crisis, when Tuareg separatists began fighting against the forces of the Malian army for the independence of Azawad.

Peacekeepers and mercenaries. In the country, security is increasingly at risk, with the progressive release of the UN troops from the MINUSMA mission. Many contributing nations – France and Germany among others – decided to leave Mali after the arrival of the Russian soldiers of the Wagner battalion. This has revived the offensive of jihadist groups linked to Al Qaeda. The attacks by fundamentalists and the Tuareg rebellion made MINUSMA the most dangerous of the UN missions, with 209 blue helmets killed out of a force of about 15,000.

Floods and droughts. The floods of 2021 forced over six thousand people to abandon their homes and move. Mali, like many other African regions, has been experiencing long periods of drought for a decade which affect food security. We do not yet have precise data on the number of displaced victims of climate change, but the dimensions of the phenomenon are registering a significant increase. There were 1.3 million people in conditions of food insecurity in 2021, i.e. three times as many as in 2020 and the highest figure from 2012 to today. In 2021, there were almost 250,000 displaced people in the country, the highest figure in the last decade.

The UN’s Emergency Humanitarian Fund. On December 30 the United Nations Fund for Humanitarian Emergency Response (CERF) has approved a grant of seven million dollars to help northern and central Mali. The goal is to provide life-saving assistance to over 400,000 people, including internally displaced persons and refugees in the areas of Gao, Kidal and Mopti, affected by the worst effects of the conflicts in the country.

The escalation of violence. Between January and December 2022, Northern Mali was faced with ever-increasing population movements. The data speak of about 72,500 new displaced people due to clashes between rival armed groups and the military operations of the Malian armed forces, especially in the central (Mopti and Ségou) and northern regions (Gao, Menaka, Timbuktu, Taoudénit and Kidal). According to data from the Displacement Tracking Matrix, a system that collects and analyzes information relating to population movements, vulnerability and the needs of refugees and displaced persons, in August 2022 in Mali the living conditions of displaced people worsened and the lack of access access to basic social services makes people particularly vulnerable.

The new projects for the country. This new allocation of funds from CERF for 2023 will help finance education and protection of people, access to water, sanitation, promotion of sexual and reproductive well-being for women, restoration of documentation civil service for all the displaced, medical and psychological assistance and food assistance in particular for the populations affected by the floods and violence in the regions of Gao, Kidal and Mopti. The latest United Nations dossier in the country has highlighted how the work of humanitarian operators in Mali is also constantly under attack, especially in the central and northern areas. Between car thefts, threats against NGO staff, murders and kidnappings, organizations’ ability to reach all people in need is increasingly compressed.