EDITH M. LEDERER/ASSOCIATED PRESS
UNITED
NATIONS -- An estimated 30,000 people may have been displaced by fighting in
central and northern Mali since Islamist insurgents started moving south last
week, the United Nations said Monday.
U.N.
deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said it's feared the number may be higher
because some Islamist groups are reportedly preventing people from moving
south.
He
told reporters that some 230,000 people have been displaced by fighting and
insecurity in Mali since March 2012, when the democratically elected president
was overthrown by mutinous soldiers in a coup, creating a security vacuum.
That
allowed the secular Tuaregs, who have long felt marginalized by Mali's
government, to take half the north as a new homeland. But months later, the
rebels were kicked out by Islamist groups allied with al-Qaida, who took control
of the north and have imposed strict Shariah law.
Those
groups suddenly started heading south last week and on Thursday captured the
city of Konna, which the weak Malian army was unable to hold. The Islamist
offensive threatened the nearby city of Mopti, which has 100,000 inhabitants,
and the capital, Bamako.
In
response to a request from Mali's president, France launched a military
offensive against the rebels on Friday. The Islamist fighters responded to
French airstrikes and military action with a counter-offensive Monday,
overrunning the garrison town of Diabaly.
Del
Buey said the Mauritanian Ministry of Interior has confirmed that thousands of
refugees are on their way from Mali to the border with Mauritania. He said
significant number of refugees have not been seen arriving in Mali's other
neighbors, Burkina Faso and Niger.
The
U.N. World Food Program reported Monday that the conflict in northern Mali has
triggered wide displacement within the country and into neighboring countries,
"uprooting half a million people and placing pressure on vulnerable host
communities still recovering from the Sahel drought," del Buey said.
While
insecurity is severely limiting the food agency's access to northern Mali, he
said WFP has managed to get emergency food to 270,000 people through its
partners, including 70,000 people who are internally displaced.
The
U.N. Security Council heard a briefing Monday afternoon from U.N. political
chief Jeffrey Feltman, and del Buey said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was also
closely following the situation.
Late
last year, the 15-nation in West African regional group known as ECOWAS, which
includes Mali, agreed on a proposal for the military to take back the north, and
sought backing from the United Nations.
The
Security Council in December authorized an African-led force to support Malian
forces in recovering the north _ an area the size of Texas _ but set no timeline
for military action. Instead, it set out benchmarks to be met before the start
of offensive operations, beginning with progress on a political roadmap to
restore constitutional order, political reconciliation, elections and training
of the Malian and African troops and police.
Del
Buey said the secretary-general spoke to Ivory Coast President and ECOWAS Chair
Alassane Ouattara on Saturday who briefed him on the upcoming ECOWAS summit in
Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on Jan. 19, and the plans of several members to deploy
military forces to Mali.
Ban
welcomes the response to Mali's call for assistance to counter the push south by
the armed and terrorist groups, and "hopes these actions will help to arrest the
latest offensive," del Buey said.
Comments