In Mali, the progression of the Islamic State group in the Ménaka region is creating a massive movement of displaced people. The jihadists took over the Tidermène locality on April 10th, consecrating their domination over the entire region and causing the population to flee to the big cities of the North, in particular in Kidal.
The refugees arrive by truckloads in Ménaka, now surrounded by Islamic State fighters in the Sahel, and especially in Gao and Kidal, where more than 2,000 people have arrived in recent days.
“It is difficult to give an exact figure because there is a surge in population. The repositioning of the EIGS in the region makes the situation quite difficult for these populations who today seek to find refuge in the large urban centers which are the new poles of a surge of these populations. We are talking about thousands of people, but we do not have exact figures, ”explains Mohamed Askia Touré, the representative in Mali of the UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
It has been a little over a year since the Sahelian branch of the Islamic State group launched its offensive in northeastern Mali, massacring, destroying, and looting methodically. Local communities have recorded nearly a thousand deaths in one year.