Mali/Burkina Faso: Thousands flee violence in Mali

Event

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported on Tuesday, April 17, that recent intercommunal violence in central Mali has forced thousands of people to flee across the border into Burkina Faso. Fighting between the Fulani and Dogon communities has increased since February in Mali’s Mopti region, pushing an estimated 3000 people to leave the region. According to aid organizations, the influx of refugees is significantly increasing pressure on host communities in northern Burkina Faso. A UNHCR spokesperson warned that food supplies are critical and medical services are overstretched in the region.

Context

Clashes regularly break out between members of the pastoralist Fulani and agricultural Dogon ethnic groups over land disputes in central Mali. Rates of violence have increased over the past year as ever-scarcer resources make each group more desperate, reinforcing long-standing suspicion and hostility on all sides.

Terrorism has become an increasingly serious security threat in Burkina Faso, especially in the volatile Sahel region. Attacks are usually attributed to Ansarul Islam and other groups affiliated with Al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Meanwhile, rates of criminal violence - much of which is interlinked with terrorist activity - have also recently increased

Advice

The security environment in Mali remains complex, particularly in the north and central regions. Professional security advice and support should be sought prior to travel.

Several Western governments advise against all travel to areas of the northern Sahel region, particularly areas within 40 km (25 mi) of the Malian border. Professional security advice and support should be sought prior to traveling to such areas.