More than 1,100 people fleeing insecurity in Mali have crossed into Mauritania this week, the UN refugee agency reported Friday, saying conditions were “difficult” for the newcomers.
UNHCR said 7,310 refugees had now fled to Mauritania in the two months since a jihadist blockade upended daily life in Mali’s capital Bamako and other regions.
Mali has seen several such blockades in recent months, carried out by jihadists from the Al-Qaeda-linked Group the for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).
The group has committed violent acts since 2012, plunging Mali into an ongoing state of insecurity which has been compounded by criminal gang activity.
Civilians are often targeted in retribution by the army, its Russian allies or by jihadists, each side accusing them of collaborating with the enemy.
Since late October there has been a steady influx of refugees into Mauritania from Mali where the security situation remains “very unstable”, according to UNHCR.
The agency counted 188 families entering Mauritania this week and 1,161 families since October 24, but added that the actual numbers were probably higher.
Most of the newcomers are women and children, with rising numbers of elderly people among the refugees.
Because many use informal crossing points to enter Mauritania, it is difficult to identify and register them and supply aid, UNHCR said, calling for additional means to protect, and care for, the refugees.
