Mali and Burkina Faso on Friday said that their countries have recorded over 187,139 and 115,000 respectively.
The countries gave their report at the ongoing Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament held in Abuja.
Hon. Fomba Niambali, Member of Parliament from Mali, said that 920 schools have been closed with 187,139 Internally Displaced Person’s recorded in Mali as at Sept. 2019 with the situation changing as a result of attacks in the various localities.
She said that the situation was most pronounced in Menaka, Mopti and Kidal regions has the highest out of school rates among the displaced children are between 6 and 15 years, adding that the situation in Mali remains complex.
“As of 30th September 2019, the country had 138,900 refugees, the Asylum countries are Burkina Faso with 25,721, Mauritania 56,680 and Niger 56,499 refugees.
“The number of internally displaced persons in the country has almost doubled from 84,285 in Feb. 2019. The number has now risen to 187,139 individuals, from March 1 to Sept. 30 an increase of 102,854 was recorded.
“Following the deterioration of the security situation in the centre and North of the country, the displaced population is composed of 54 per cent women, 46 per cent men, 53 per cent children under 18 years and 4 per cent of aged people.”
Niambali said that Mali has been facing unprecedented and multidimensional crisis since 2012 which requires Malians to engage in dialogue.
However, Hon. Jeremie Sankara, Member of the Parliament from Burkina Faso, said that the country was currently hosting about 25,000 Malians refugees in the Northern part of the country.
He said that the growing insecurity has compelled about 115,000 Nationals of Burkina Faso to be internally displaced and 11,000 to flee to neighbouring countries.
Sankara, however, said that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees(UNHCR) has provided shelter and emergency aids in its current stocks within the country.(NAN)
