NIGER: Refugees fleeing violence in Mali's Toureg rebellion face severe food shortages in neighbouring Niger where humanitarian agencies have warned that famine looms
Record ID:
235508
NIGER: Refugees fleeing violence in Mali's Toureg rebellion face severe food shortages in neighbouring Niger where humanitarian agencies have warned that famine looms
- Title: NIGER: Refugees fleeing violence in Mali's Toureg rebellion face severe food shortages in neighbouring Niger where humanitarian agencies have warned that famine looms
- Date: 16th March 2012
- Summary: SINAGODAR, OUALLAM DISTRICT, NIGER (RECENT) (REUTERS) WOMEN POUNDING GRAIN IN REFUGEE CAMP WOMAN BATHING CHILD NEXT TO MAKESHIFT SHELTER SHELTERS MEN WRAPPED IN HEADSCARFS LOOKING ON CHILDREN PLAYING WITH A BALL IN THE DUST (SOUNDBITE) (Zarma) AGHALI AGUISSINA, REFUGEE SAYING: "The little you see us eating does not come from authorities. To tell you the truth, it's the river that gives a lot of fish and our goats that you can see over there. This is why we don't want to leave this area." WOMEN COOKING NEXT TO SHELTER YOUNG CHILDREN SITTING NEXT TO COOKING AREA CLOSE OF BABY SITTING IN THE DUST (SOUNDBITE) (Tamachek) MAHAMADOU ANDILO, REFUGEE SAYING: "Some people here are so hungry they can't open their mouths to tell you they have empty stomachs. Most have nothing to give to their children. Some have gone three days without having any food to give to their children. The only thing we can do is hope things will improve." MEN SITTING NEXT TO MAKESHIFT SHELTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Zarma) ABDOULAYE MAHAMADOU, CHIEF OF SINAGODAR VILLAGE SAYING: "We don't stay here because of crops anymore, we stay for the cattle. We can sell one or two if necessary. Those who don't have cattle work for the people that do. Others have left the village to look for a better life. Now the refugees have arrived on top of all this." YOUNG GIRL STANDING NEXT TO SOME GOATS YOUNG GIRL FEEDING GOAT FROM A BOWL VARIOUS OF HOMESTEAD (SOUNDBITE) (French) MODIBO TRAORE, UN HUMANITARIAN CRISIS COORDINATOR FOR NIGER SAYING: "The Malian crisis affects Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Algeria and Niger. For all these people we need to find resources. These countries were already facing severe food shortages before the refugee crisis happened. Resources were already few and far between. So, we actually need to mobilise resources for two crises both of having an impact on the region." VARIOUS OF CHILDREN SINGING IN THE CAMP
- Embargoed: 31st March 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Niger, Niger
- Country: Niger
- Topics: International Relations,Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Politics,People
- Reuters ID: LVADCNBFQYB2MPNEH2QB6H6EZPRS
- Story Text: In the dusty border town of Sinagodar in Niger, women from Mali pound grain next to makeshift shelters. They are some of the latest arrivals of refugees flooding over the border into Niger, fleeing the violent Tuareg rebellion that has been raging since the beginning of the year.
Dozens have been reported killed and thousands of civilians forced from their homes since the rebels, boosted by ethnic allies who returned to Mali after fighting for Muammar Gaddafi in Lybia, started attacking towns and army bases in northern Mali.
The upsurge of fighting in an area already struggling to tackle the presence of local al Qaeda agents has pushed hundreds of families to flee to neighbouring Niger.
But while crossing the border has improved their safety, in Niger refugees face a new problem. A major food shortage that has crippled local populations after failed rains, that threatens to become a full scale famine if help does not arrive fast.
Aghali Aguissina, a recently arrived refugee says his family and others are relying on the food they bought with them and anything extra they can find in the local river.
"The little you see us eating does not come from authorities. To tell you the truth, it's the river that gives a lot of fish and our goats that you can see over there. This is why we don't want to leave this area," Aguissina said.
Six temporary sites along the border have grown out of the dry landscape, providing a base for as many as 25,000 Malian refugees and a few Nigeriens who were working in Mali who have returned home.
"Some people here are so hungry they can't open their mouths to tell you they have empty stomachs. Most have nothing to give to their children. Some have gone three days without having any food to give to their children. The only thing we can do is hope things will improve," said Mahamadou Andilo another refugee.
The mass movement of people has been a major disruption to locals in Sinagodar, who now find themselves competing for what little resources there are and say they cannot cope with the huge number of people flooding in.
"We don't stay here because of crops anymore, we stay for the cattle. We can sell one or two if necessary. Those who don't have cattle work for the people that do. Others have left the village to look for a better life. Now the refugees have arrived on top of all this," said Abdoulaye Mahamadou, chief of Sinagodar village.
The United Nations has called for help from donors to respond to the problem, warning that if action is not taken, severe malnutrition among children and adults will take hold and people are likely to die as a result.
"The Malian crisis affects Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Algeria and Niger. For all these people we need to find resources. These countries were already facing severe food shortages before the refugee crisis happened. Resources were already few and far between. So, we actually need to mobilise resources for two crises both of having an impact on the region," he said.
The Tourag rebellion is the latest manifestation of a long running battle by formerly nomadic Tuareg populations fighting for an independent state in the area that borders Mali, Niger, Algeria, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.
The United Nations and allies including former colonial power France have called for a ceasefire and negotiations between rebels and the government ahead of the election. However they have backed Mali's rejection of the rebels' goal of outright independence for three northern regions. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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