Niger already has more than 350,000 internally displaced people and a similar number of refugees from other countries, especially vulnerable in the event of predictable “riots” by armed groups.
More than 20,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in a month due to violence following the military coup in Niger, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which fears a new displacement crisis.
The political instability derived from the coup, “with no solution in sight”, raises fears for the evolution of the humanitarian context in that African country, where on July 26 a group of soldiers overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum, detained at his home. Since then.
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The UNHCR representative in Niger, Emmanuel Gignac, stated that the situation is now marked by “uncertainty”, since the country is also the scene of armed group attacksespecially near the borders with Mali and Burkina Faso.
Expressing its “deep concern”, UNHCR revealed that the violence In just one month, it added more than 20,000 new displaced persons, mainly in the Tillaberi and Diffa areas.
Niger already has more than 350,000 internally displaced persons and a similar number of refugees from other countries, especially vulnerable in the event of foreseeable “riots” by armed groups and the heavy rainsamong other threats, Gignac warned.
The price of raw materials also skyrocketed as a result of the imposition of sanctions by the Community of West African States (ECOWAS), including the border closure.
The UN asked the regional bloc humanitarian exemptions to make sure help keeps coming.
The UNHCR representative warned that “the increase in the cost of living and insecurity increased protection risks, including early marriage, sexual violence, trafficking and exploitation”. In July alone, the agency recorded 255 such cases, a “drastic increase” since the coup.
Source: Observadora
