by David Baché
In Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, "security incidents have almost doubled since 2020, weakening the state's presence [...] and increasing risks for both displaced people and host communities," said Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, UNHCR's director for West and Central Africa, on Friday, October 9.
The military officers who seized power in Mali in 2020, Burkina Faso in 2022, and Niger in 2023, and who together created the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) to combat jihadist and separatist groups operating within their borders, claim that the security of the population is their priority. They also regularly boast about the "strengthening" of their armies and the victories they claim to have achieved against "terrorists" —thus justifying their continued hold on power without elections. However, the violence perpetrated by "terrorist" armed groups, as well as by national armies and their auxiliaries, has continued to escalate, forcing more and more civilians to flee.
The UNHCR notes that the number of people fleeing violence in these three countries has almost doubled since 2020, now reaching nearly 4 million. Among them, more than 818,000 are refugees and asylum seekers. The others are internally displaced persons.
The UN agency cites, in particular, the case of Koro, in the Bandiagara region of Mali, which last July hosted 86,000 refugees arriving in successive waves from Burkina Faso, "placing increasing pressure on already limited land and water resources, overwhelmed health services, and limited livelihoods."
The UNHCR reports that several hundred thousand people have also sought refuge in coastal countries, notably Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Togo. This situation is all the more alarming given the lack of international aid funding: in September, the UNHCR had only 27% of the nearly €3 million needed to carry out its activities in the Sahel.