Renewed fighting between armed groups in the Gao, Mopti and Timbuktu areas of northern Mali in the past four weeks has led to some 57,000 people fleeing their homes, according to Malian authorities. The United Nations refugee agency reported on Friday.
Despite the signing of the Algier Peace Agreement between the Government and several armed groups in Bamako, security still stands as an issue.
“The volatile security situation is hindering access for humanitarian workers to all affected areas and the growing insecurity in the region is making the provision of protection and assistance to the newly-displaced very challenging,” UNHCR spokesman William Spindler said in a statement.
According to the UNHCR, tens of thousands of people have fled their villages in Gao, Mopti and Timbuktu in northern Mali in recent weeks due to fear of violence or forced recruitment by armed groups, and many are sleeping outdoors.
Hundreds of refugees have also crossed into neighbouring Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso since the end of April.
The UNHCR said the violence has exacerbated tensions between villagers. Refugees who fled to Niger from a single village in Gao do not want to live in the same camp as they accuse each other of having links to opposing armed groups, the UNHCR said.
More than 100,000 people have been uprooted within Mali since conflict broke out between pro-government forces and rebel groups in 2012, while some 137,500 people have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, according to the refugee agency.
Violence has continued in northern Mali despite a 2013 French-led intervention that pushed back al Qaeda-linked fighters who hijacked the Tuareg-led rebellion and seized two-thirds of the country in 2012.
The U.N mission in Mali said last week it was investigating reports of serious human rights abuses, including the execution of civilians in the north of the country.
Some 137,500 Malians remain refugees in neighbouring countries, including 33,400 in Burkina Faso, 52,000 in Mauritania, and some 50,000 in Niger.
More than 35 U.N. troops have been killed in Mali since the mission deployed in mid-2013.
