UN urges action to address displacement in Sahel

The UN refugee agency UNHCR urged concrete actions to avert forced displacement in the war-ravaged Sahel, warning of a deteriorating humanitarian crisis.

Nearly 3.3 million people were forced to flee their homes in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger due to increasing terrorist activity, exacerbated by drought, the UNHCR said in a statement.

“The security situation in the central Sahel is volatile, forcing people to flee their homes in search of safety and protection,” UNHCR said, adding it is deeply concerned about the fast-growing humanitarian crisis in the Sahel region.

Groups such as Islamic State (IS) continue to wage a violent campaign in the region, with annual deaths due to terrorist activity growing more than 2,000 percent between 2007 and 2022.

The Sahel now accounts for 43 percent of the world’s terrorism deaths—more than South Asia and the MENA region combined.

Meanwhile, the lack of adequate shelter, clean water and sanitation was exacerbating the poor conditions faced by displaced people, while persistent insecurity prevented many from returning home.

The UNHCR said it needs $443.5 million to cover urgent humanitarian needs in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and the Gulf of Guinea countries.