UNHCR watching Mali situation, High Commissioner Guterres to visit Mauritania

Briefing notes

UNHCR watching Mali situation, High Commissioner Guterres to visit Mauritania

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today's press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

23 March 2012

UNHCR is monitoring developments in Mali following the announcement that army soldiers had taken control of the country. Thus far we are not seeing new population movement either inside the country or to neighbouring countries, but we continue to follow the situation closely.

A concern for UNHCR is the potential for continued political uncertainty to create further population movements at a time when there is already considerable displacement inside and beyond Mali's borders. We are revising our contingency plans to allow us to respond to possible new influxes in surrounding countries.

Thousands of people have fled Mali since mid-January, following fighting between a rebel movement and Malian forces in the north of the country. Inside Mali, displaced people are living in difficult conditions in villages and temporary sites and dependant on the generosity of host communities.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, will be visiting Mauritania over the next days to attend a ceremony marking the end of the voluntary repatriation from Senegal to Mauritania, and to recognise the efforts that have been undertaken to support the asylum process over the years. He will also assess the situation in connection with the influx of persons affected by the conflict in Mali.

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