Renewed violence in northern Mali is causing mass displacements within the region of Timbuktu. About 60,000 people have been forced to flee their homes and find shelter in the region over the past few weeks, and more than 500 people have crossed the borders into neighboring countries. WFP has stepped up its response to provide food to the newly displaced despite having limited resources.

A surge in violence in northern Mali during the second half of May has left entire villages empty, and their inhabitants homeless as they escaped in search of peace. The numbers have been increasing with each passing day. As of May 31, the count reached about 60,000 internally displaced people, the vast majority of which have taken refuge around the towns of Goundam and Tonka, in the Timbuktu region. The newly-displaced join the ranks of over 43,000 internally displaced people throughout the country who have not yet returned to their homes since the conflict erupted in 2012, bringing the total number of those displaced within Mali to over 100,000.

The luckiest are staying with host families, though these families are often also struggling to feed themselves with the onset of the lean season. Others have settled in makeshift shelters or are in the open, a situation that has led to urgent need for water, food, and shelter.

WFP has stepped up, assessing needs, and shipping and distributing food. To get food to those who need it the most, WFP uses any means possible, including barges.

Together with its partners, on 23 May, WFP distributed 13 metric tons of cereal bars to 9,100 of the newly displaced, in an effort to provide short-term relief as it worked to transport food rations to the area. In the following days, WFP was able to start distributing one month’s worth of food rations to approximately 29,000 people.

WFP and partners are carrying out assessments to have a better understanding of the needs in the regions of Gao, Mopti and Timbuktu, and we aim to increase our assistance as needed.

"The current state of affairs is only adding to an already difficult situation as over 3 million people struggle to have enough food to eat, and host communities brace themselves to face a harsh lean season. If the situation continues to deteriorate, we expect more people to be in need of life-saving food assistance," said Sally Haydock, WFP Mali Country Director.

WFP is able to support the newly displaced with the emergency aid thanks to the support of ECHO, USA, Japan, Canada, France, Switzerland. In 2015, WFP overall aims to support 1.2 million people in Mali—providing emergency relief and additional support for communities emerging from crisis.

To date, less than half of WFP's funding needs are met. WFP urgently requires an additional US$64 million to continue to meet growing needs.

Text by: Irshad Khan/WFP. Photos courtesy of WFP partner Africare and WFP/Daouda Guirou (for second photo).

Kano, Nigeria | 10:49 GMT

The death toll from a blast in the northeast Nigerian city of Maiduguri has risen to 18, a civilian vigilante assisting the military against Boko Haram told AFP on Thursday.

"We retrieved 18 dead bodies from the scene and many people with injuries," Danlami Ajaokuta said of the explosion on the city's Baga Road, which happened at about 5:30 pm (1630 GMT) on Wednesday.

Explosives are believed to have been left near a garage opposite a military unit, with many of the victims roadside mechanics taking a break from work.

At least six people who died were recovered in the immediate aftermath, Ajaokuta said on Wednesday.

He said on Thursday that "many people" were injured, some of them seriously, and were taken to hospital for treatment.

"The death toll may rise further," he added.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast but Maiduguri has been hit repeatedly by Boko Haram Islamists, including in recent days.

Early on Saturday morning, Boko Haram fighters shelled the city but were repelled by the military and a suicide bomber later killed 26 at a mosque.

On Tuesday morning, suburbs again came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and at least 13 people were killed in a suicide attack at a cattle market.

About an hour before the Baga Road attack, residents in the village of Tunkushe, some 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) north of Maiduguri, said a car exploded at a checkpoint.

There were no immediate indications of casualties.

Boko Haram, which was founded in Maiduguri in 2002, has been pushed out of captured territory and towns in northeast Nigeria by a coalition of troops from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon.

But sporadic attacks continue. Nigeria's new President Muhammadu Buhari has made ending the six-year insurgency a priority for his administration.

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Nouakchott, Mauritanie, 4 juin 2015 – Le manque de financement menace l’assistance essentielle apportée aux réfugiés maliens en Mauritanie, préviennent le Haut-Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés (HCR) et le Programme alimentaire mondial des Nations Unies (PAM).

Les deux agences œuvrent avec leurs partenaires et les autorités mauritaniennes à la protection et à l’assistance des réfugiés maliens ayant trouvé refuge au camp de Mberra depuis 2012, suite au conflit au nord du Mali.

Grâce aux contributions des donateurs pour ce programme, les conditions de vie des réfugiés dans le camp ont été améliorées de manière significative. La prévalence de la malnutrition aiguë globale est, par exemple, passée de 20 pourcent en juillet 2012 à 9.9 pourcent en octobre 2014. Grace aux aménagements divers effectués dans le camp, les réfugiés ont désormais accès à 30 litres d’eau potable par personne par jour contre moins de 15 litres en 2013.

« Le HCR et ses partenaires sont dans une période charnière de consolidation des progrès réalisés jusqu’à aujourd’hui dans le camp de Mberra » explique M. Bruno Geddo, Représentant du HCR en Mauritanie. « Le financement de ces efforts est crucial, notamment dans le contexte actuel où près de 300 nouveaux arrivants maliens ont été enregistrés en Mauritanie depuis la fin avril 2015. »

Le HCR mène des actions dans plusieurs domaines d’assistance essentiels dans le camp, dont la protection, l’éducation primaire, la distribution de nourriture et de non vivres, le suivi de la nutrition et de la santé, l’accès à l’eau potable et l’assainissement et l’accès aux abris et à l’énergie.

Par ailleurs, le HCR soutient également l’autonomisation des réfugiés, à travers notamment des cours d’alphabétisation, des formations professionnelles, un appui important aux activités maraichères et autres activités génératrices de revenus. Enfin, plusieurs projets, notamment de réhabilitation d’infrastructures, mis en œuvre par le HCR dans la communauté hôte permettent de promouvoir la coexistence pacifique entre la population d’accueil et les réfugiés.

« Le PAM prévoit d’assister 52,500 réfugiés jusque fin décembre. Faute de ressources suffisantes, nous avons dû suspendre temporairement ces distributions aux réfugiés en mars et nous devrons réduire la taille des rations distribuées en juin et septembre » précise M. Janne Suvanto, Représentant du PAM en Mauritanie. « Si des ressources supplémentaires ne sont pas rapidement mobilisées, le PAM pourrait avoir à arrêter les distributions à partir d’octobre. Il faut noter aussi que cette situation a lieu dans un contexte où de nombreuses familles mauritaniennes vulnérables font déjà face à une situation d’insécurité alimentaire très difficile. »

Le PAM a apporté une assistance alimentaire mensuelle à presque 52,000 réfugiés maliens au camp de Mberra depuis le début de l’année. En partenariat avec le HCR, le PAM fournit également des suppléments nutritionnels fortifiés aux enfants de moins de cinq ans, et aux femmes enceintes et allaitantes pour traiter et prévenir la malnutrition aiguë modérée. Un repas chaud est également distribué chaque jour aux enfants des écoles primaires et des espaces amis des enfants du camp.

« Nous lançons un appel d’urgence aux bailleurs de fonds afin que nous puissions continuer à aider cette population vulnérable qui est forcée de rester en Mauritanie tant que la situation sécuritaire et humanitaire restera précaire au nord du Mali », ont ajouté MM. Geddo et Suvanto.

En 2015 le HCR et le PAM on respectivement reçu 3,2 millions de dollars états-uniens et 5,9 millions de dollars états-uniens pour venir en aide aux réfugiés maliens.

Malgré ces généreuses contributions, les deux agences ont encore besoin de, respectivement 5 millions de dollars états-uniens et 3,9 millions de dollars états-uniens pour leur permettre de continuer à protéger et assister les réfugiés maliens en Mauritanie durant les six prochains mois.

Pour plus d’informations, veuillez contacter:

HCR

– Sebastien Laroze larozes@unhcr.org + 222 32 31 50 80

PAM

– Adel Sarkozi (Dakar) adel.sarkozi@wfp.org +221 77 637 5964

Suivez « UNHCR-Mauritanie » sur Facebook Suivez-le PAM sur Twitter : @WFP_WAfrica ; @wfp_media

Jun 2015

L'Essentiel

• La période de soudure a débuté en Gambie, en Guinée Bissau, au Mali, en Mauritanie, au Niger et au Sénégal, principalement dans les zones ayant souffert d'un déficit de pluies pendant la campagne 2014/2015.
• Les résultats du forum PRESAO indiquent de fortes probabilités de précipitations déficitaires sur certaines parties de la région pour 2015.
• En raison de perspectives météorologiques défavorables dans certaines zones, des mouvements atypiques de prix suite à la spéculation des commerçants pourraient être observé pour la prochaine campagne agricole.

Le Centre de détention de rééducation et de réinsertion des femmes et filles de Bollé a abrité ce matin la pose de la première pierre d’un "projet à impact rapide" (Quick Impact Project, QIP) de la MINUSMA. Sous le nom de code QIP#Bko15_008, ce projet vise à améliorer les conditions sanitaires et environnementales du Centre qui héberge 133 pensionnaires, uniquement des femmes, enfants et filles mineures.

D’un montant de près de 10 millions de FCFA, le projet est mis en œuvre par l’Unité Genre et la Section Stabilisation/Relèvement communautaire de la MINUSMA, à travers la Clinique juridique Demeso de promotion et protection des droits des femmes. Les travaux s’étalent sur trois mois. Ils consistent à installer et aménager des ouvrages et canalisations pour l’évacuation des eaux de pluies qui envahissent le Centre.

Les pensionnaires et le personnel de Bollé sont régulièrement confrontés à cette situation qui se crée en période hivernale, comme celle qui s’annonce dans les prochains jours, rendant difficile pendant plusieurs mois l’accès du Centre, mais entravant également les déplacements internes.

Au sujet de l’aménagement réalisé avec le concours de la MINUSMA, Dramane Sidibé, Directeur adjoint du Centre, dira que « l’installation de canaux d’évacuation des eaux de pluies va considérablement changer les conditions de vie à l’intérieur du Centre ». Il permettra selon lui de « lutter contre les nuisances liées à la stagnation des eaux de pluies et de réduire la fréquence des maladies hydriques auxquelles les pensionnaires sont exposés ainsi que de rehausser le niveau global d’hygiène ».

En tant qu’institution spécialisée de la Direction Nationale de l’Administration Pénitentiaire et de l’Éducation Surveillée, le Centre de Bollé participe à la ‘’Semaine du Détenu’’, organisée le 10 décembre de chaque année par les Nations Unies dans le cadre de la Journée internationale des droits de l’homme. L’édition 2014 de ladite semaine, organisée avec la Section des Affaires Judiciaires et Pénitentiaires de la MINUSMA, a justement porté sur les femmes et mineurs incarcérés.

Bamako, Mali | AFP | jeudi 04/06/2015 - 19:45 GMT

Trois civils ont été tués par des hommes armés lors d'attaques distinctes dans le nord du Mali, ont indiqué jeudi des élus locaux et une source sécuritaire, qui ignoraient s'il s'agissait de l'oeuvre de bandits ou de groupes armés.

Par ailleurs, la Coordination des mouvements de l'Azawad (CMA, rébellion à dominante touareg), qui mène depuis la semaine dernière des consultations à Alger, doit signer vendredi un "accord sécuritaire" en vue de rétablir le cessez-le-feu battu en brèche depuis plus d'un mois dans le nord du Mali, a indiqué une source proche de la médiation algérienne, sans plus de précision.

Aucune des sources ayant informé l'AFP de ces trois morts n'était en mesure de préciser si elles relevaient du banditisme ou de groupes armés, mais la CMA a revendiqué l'une des victimes comme un de ses sympathisants et incriminé les "milices pro-gouvernementales".

"Un civil a été assassiné mercredi non loin de la localité de Goundam", près de Tombouctou (nord-ouest), par des hommes armés qui circulaient en véhicule, a déclaré une source municipale contactée par téléphone de Bamako.

L'information a été confirmée par une source de sécurité étrangère qui a également annoncé "la mort par balle" jeudi, au nord de Tombouctou, d'un autre civil d'une "quarantaine d'années".

Il "a été abattu par des hommes armés à une trentaine de kilomètres au nord de Tombouctou", a-t-elle précisé.

Par ailleurs, un transporteur routier de Ménaka, enlevé lundi par des hommes armés près de cette ville du nord-est du pays proche de la frontière nigérienne, a été retrouvé mort mercredi, a affirmé à l'AFP un responsable municipal.

Ce transporteur, identifié comme Had Mahammed Ag Had Tijan, "a été assassiné".

"C'était un homme sans histoire, très populaire à Ménaka, qui ne faisait pas de politique. Tous les camps avaient de l'admiration" pour ce personnage qui "n'avait pas d'ennemis connus", a-t-il poursuivi.

La CMA a pour sa part accusé dans un communiqué "les milices pro-gouvernementales et leurs comparses du Mujao" de l'avoir enlevé à son domicile de Ménaka, puis abattu "froidement de 13 balles", après l'avoir précédemment frappé et dépossédé de ses deux véhicules le 29 mai.

Le communiqué fait ainsi référence aux forces pro-gouvernementales, dont la branche pro-Bamako du Mouvement arabe de l'Azawad (MAA) compte un grand nombre d'anciens membres du Mujao (Mouvement pour l'unicité et le jihad en Afrique de l'Ouest), qui se battent depuis plus d'un mois contre les rebelles pour le contrôle de Ménaka.

Le nord du Mali était tombé en mars-avril 2012 sous la coupe de groupes jihadistes liés à Al-Qaïda (dont le Mujao) après la déroute de l'armée face à la rébellion, d'abord alliée à ces groupes qui l'ont ensuite évincée.

Les jihadistes ont été dispersés et en grande partie chassés de cette région après le lancement en janvier 2013, à l'initiative de la France, de l'opération militaire "Serval" - relayée depuis août 2014 par l'opération "Barkhane", dont le rayon d'action s'étend à l'ensemble sahélo-saharien.

Mais des zones entières de cette vaste région désertique échappent encore au contrôle des autorités maliennes comme des forces internationales déployées depuis plus de deux ans.

sd-ao/mrb/cs/sst/mba

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Bamako, Mali | AFP | Thursday 6/4/2015 - 17:20 GMT

Three civilians have been killed over two days in Mali's conflict-hit northern desert, local government and security sources told AFP on Thursday.

Two were gunned down in the Timbuktu region on Wednesday and Thursday while while another was shot dead in the neighbouring region of Gao on Wednesday, the sources said.

The Gao victim was a haulier who had been kidnapped on Monday near the flashpoint town of Menaka, seized from rebels by pro-government fighters in April in an operation which has sparked numerous violations of a ceasefire agreement in the area.

"We found his body on Wednesday. He was murdered. He was an ordinary man who was very popular in Menaka, and wasn't involved in poiltics," a local government official told AFP, adding that the victim had no known enemies.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for any of the killings but Mali's Tuareg-led rebel alliance, the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), blamed pro-government militias "and their cronies in MUJAO" for the Gao attack.

MUJAO -- the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa -- was a jihadist group active in the area before it merged in 2013 with the Signatories in Blood to form a new Islamist militia, Al-Murabitoun.

Another civilian was shot dead from a car on Wednesday near Goundam, a town of around 16,000 some 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the ancient caravan city of Timbuktu, according to a local official.

This area, too, has seen a recent upsurge in violence, culminating in the killing of eight Malian soldiers in May by CMA rebels.

A foreign security source announced the killing of the third civilian further north in the same region.

"A 40-year-old civilian was shot dead on Thursday by gunmen around 30 kilometres (20 miles) north of Timbuktu," the source told AFP.

Renewed fighting over the last month between rebels and loyalist fighters has led to the displacement of 57,000 people fleeing violence or forced recruitment, according to the UN's refugee agency.

There are now 100,000 people internally displaced in the impoverished west African nation's northern desert, the UNHCR announced on May 29.

Rights campaigners have denounced the alleged summary executions by pro-government forces in May of six civilians including a 13-year-old boy and an aid worker in the Gao region.

sd/mrb/cs/ft/har

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Thursday 6/4/2015 - 21:37 GMT

by Aminu ABUBAKAR

Two blasts rocked northeast Nigeria on Thursday, killing at least six, after new President Muhammadu Buhari urged closer regional cooperation to defeat Boko Haram.

The first explosion happened in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, which has been hit by a spate of bombings in recent days, when a truck carrying firewood rammed into a checkpoint outside a military barracks.

The second hit a busy market in Yola, the capital of neighbouring Adamawa state.

At least four soldiers were killed in the first explosion, which one resident called a "suicide attack", while the second left two dead and some 30 others injured, police and locals said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but both incidents will likely be blamed on Boko Haram, whose insurgency to create a hardline Islamic state has left at least 15,000 people dead since 2009.

The Islamists had been seen as a weakened force in recent months, as a result of a four-nation military offensive involving Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon that pushed them out of captured territory.

But recent days have seen a marked increase in attacks against so-called "soft" targets, including markets and mosques.

The group this week also released a new video -- its first for several months and first under the banner of the "Islamic State in West Africa" -- claiming it was still to be reckoned with.

The bombings also coincide with the arrival of Buhari as head of state. In his inaugural speech last Friday, he described the group as "mindless" and "godless" and made crushing the rebellion his top priority.

• Regional cooperation -

Hours before the latest attacks, Buhari was in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, for talks with his counterpart Idriss Deby on tackling Boko Haram, after visiting Niger on Wednesday.

"Your troops have stood shoulder to shoulder and fought gallantly with ours in the fight against the forces of evil," the 72-year-old former military ruler told Deby.

"This is a remarkable show of good neighbourliness, which we must reinforce in the years ahead."

Deby for his part "reaffirmed Chad's involvement and availability" to work with Nigeria, according to a statement from his office.

Anglophone Nigeria has typically viewed its Francophone neighbours with suspicion, which has been blamed for the lack of a joined-up approach in tackling the militants.

On Wednesday, the military in Abuja announced that a Nigerian officer had taken charge of the new African Union-backed Multi-National Joint Task Force based in N'Djamena.

The 8,700-strong unit, made up of military personnel, police and civilians from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, had been due to be deployed last November.

Buhari said "sustained and robust" regional cooperation was essential because of the cross-border threat posed by Boko Haram.

The new fighting force "will be able to secure and stabilise all the areas affected by the Boko Haram insurgency" and would help bring an end to the bloodshed, he added.

• Military tested -

Buhari has ordered the military's command centre be moved from the capital, Abuja, to Maiduguri, where Boko Haram was founded in 2002 and which is regarded as its spiritual home.

The army has since been tested with two rocket attacks on the city, as well as an explosion opposite a military facility on Wednesday, which left at least 18 dead.

The latest attack was outside the Maimalari Barracks at about 5:00 pm (1600 GMT).

There were also two suicide bomb attacks -- one at a mosque on Saturday that killed 26 and another on Tuesday at a cattle market, in which 13 people died.

Adamawa state police spokesman Othman Abubakar said further details were expected on Friday about the explosion at the Jimeta Main Market at about 7:40 pm.

Yola has been targeted before by Boko Haram but has recently been seen as a relative safe haven for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the violence elsewhere in the troubled northeast.

Hundreds of women and children kidnapped by Boko Haram have been brought to camps in the city after they were rescued during recent military operations in the rebels' Sambisa Forest stronghold in Borno.

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© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

CONTACT:
Michael Stulman
Catholic Relief Services
+221 77 333 4231
michael.stulman@crs.org

NIAMEY, NIGER, June 4, 2015 – Catholic Relief Services, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and local partners in Niger, distributed more than five million long lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets in May, part of an ambitious project to combat malaria in this West African country by ensuring that 18 million people sleep under nets.

“Malaria has a devastating effect on communities across Africa,” says William Rastetter, CRS’ Country Representative in Niger. “By edging closer to universal coverage in Niger, we can eliminate malaria – and the needless deaths that have occurred due to the disease.”

In 2013, there were an estimated 584,000 deaths from malaria worldwide – 90% of them in Africa.

“Long lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets have proven to be one of the most cost-effective investments that yields significant impact,” adds Rastetter.

Since two people are expected to sleep under each net, this means more than 10 million in the regions of Tahoua, Maradi and Zinder will be protected from malaria-carrying mosquitos during their most active hours.

With funding from The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, CRS partnered with the Ministry of Health’s National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) and several local NGOs in Niger, and previously distributed 1.6 million mosquito nets in the regions of Tillabery and Dosso.

Over the course of the next several months, CRS and our local partners will continue to make strides toward universal coverage in Niger. CRS is promoting early testing and treatment of malaria by employing advanced Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) and by administering Artesunate Combination Therapy (ACTs) which are drugs used to treat malaria.

These initiatives have been paired with behavioral change communication activities that inform the public about infection and prevention of malaria.

Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. The agency alleviates suffering and provides assistance to people in need in more than 100 countries, without regard to race, religion or nationality. CRS’ relief and development work is accomplished through programs of emergency response, HIV, health, agriculture, education, microfinance and peacebuilding. For more information, please visit crs.org or crsespanol.org and follow CRS on social media: Facebook, Twitter at @CatholicRelief and @CRSnews, Google+, Pinterest and YouTube.

Weary elders, forlorn fathers and mothers sit in their tents or under trees while children run around Dalori camp, a temporary shelter for more than 15,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).

Read more on the OCHA website.

Without additional funding, food, shelter, education and other services will be severely reduced.

NOUAKCHOTT, MAURITANIA, June 4, 2015 (UNHCR ) – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme warn that lack of funding threatens essential assistance to Malian refugees in Mauritania. The two agencies are working together with their partners and the Mauritanian authorities to ensure the protection and assistance of Malian refugees who have been living in Mberra camp since 2012, following the conflict in northern Mali.

Thanks to contributions from donors for this assistance programme, the living conditions of refugees in the camp have significantly improved. The prevalence of global acute malnutrition, for example, which was at 20% in July 2012 dropped to 9.9% by October 2014. As a result of the various interventions in the camp, refugees now have access to 30 liters of drinking water per person per day in comparison with less than 15 liters in 2013.

“UNHCR and its partners are in a crucial phase of consolidating progress achieved to date in Mberra camp” explains Bruno Geddo, UNHCR Representative in Mauritania. “The funding of these efforts is crucial, particularly in the current context where nearly 300 new arrivals from Mali have been registered in Mauritania since late April this year.”

UNHCR implements activities in several key areas of assistance in the camp, including protection, primary education, distribution of food and non-food items, monitoring of nutrition and health, access to the drinking water and sanitation as wells as access to shelter and energy.

In addition, UNHCR also supports the empowerment of refugees, particularly through literacy classes, vocational training, as well as by providing significant support to vegetable gardening and other income generating activities. Finally, several projects, including infrastructure rehabilitation activities, are implemented by UNHCR within the host community with a view to promoting peaceful coexistence between host and refugee populations.

“WFP intends to provide assistance to 52,500 refugees up until the end of December. Nevertheless, limited resources meant that we had to temporarily suspend these distributions to refugees last March and we must now reduce the size of rations to be distributed in June and September “says Janne Suvanto, WFP Representative in Mauritania. “If additional resources cannot be rapidly mobilized, WFP may have to stop distributions from October. It should also be noted that this situation is taking place within a context in which many vulnerable Mauritanian families are already facing an increasingly difficult food security situation.”

WFP has provided monthly food assistance to nearly 52,000 Malian refugees in Mberra camp since the beginning of the year. In partnership with UNHCR, WFP also provides fortified food supplements for children under five and for pregnant and lactating women in order to treat and prevent moderate acute malnutrition. A hot meal is also distributed daily to children attending primary schools and child-friendly spaces within the camp.

“We are launching an emergency appeal to donors in order to ensure that we can continue to help this vulnerable population that is forced to stay in Mauritania as the security and humanitarian situation remains precarious in northern Mali,” added Mr. Geddo and Mr. Suvanto.

In 2015 UNHCR and WFP received US $ 3.2 million and US $ 5.9 million respectively to provide assistance to Malian refugees. Despite these generous contributions, both agencies still need $ 5 million and US $ 3.9 million respectively to continue to protect and assist the Malian refugees in Mauritania over the next six months.

For more information please contact:

• UNHCR Nouakchott: Sébastien Laroze , public information officer, larozes@unhcr.org, + 222 32 31 50 80
  – UNHCR Dakar (Regional): Helene Caux, Senior Regional Public Information Officer, caux@unhcr.org, +221 77 333 1291
  – WFP Dakar (Regional): Adel Sarkozi, Senior Regional Public Information Officer, adel.sarkozi@wfp.org +221 77 637 5964

Mali - Renewed fighting in northern Mali between Malian government forces (FAMA), GATIA militia and the Coordination of Movement of Azawad (CMA) has displaced some 59,000 people in the regions of Timbuktu, Gao and Mopti.

IOM, in collaboration with the Government of Mali, is collecting and analyzing data regarding the internally displaced people (IDPs) to help better respond to their needs.

IOM Mali’s latest Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) report released on June 2nd shows that 59,245 people have been newly displaced by renewed fighting. These include 53,100 in Timbuktu region, 4,062 in Gao and 2,083 in Mopti.

Many of those who have escaped the violence are in need of basic assistance, including food, water and shelter, as well as psychosocial support. IOM is appealing for USD 5 million to help them.

Most are currently staying with host communities or in collective centers, including schools, while others have moved to safer areas in neighboring regions. According to local authorities in Ansongo, all the IDPs there urgently need food, blankets and tents.

IOM protection teams are already helping IDPs with medical, shelter, water and sanitation and transport assistance. It has also initiated a referral system within the humanitarian community to transfer vulnerable people to specialized agencies able to cope with their specific needs.

Last year, IOM expected an end to internal displacement in Mali in 2015. Most IDPs (394,655), who fled northern Mali following violence in 2012, returned home to Timbuktu, Gao, Mopti, and Kidal by the end of 2014.

By 31st May 2015, that number had risen to 411,000. But 100,000 IDPs remain nationwide – 43,000 from the 2012 crisis and 59,000 from the current conflict.

"If the current security situation in the north continues, 2015 will probably not see the end of internal displacement in Mali," says IOM Mali Chief of Mission Bakary Doumbia. "These confrontations increase the vulnerability of civilians, who need protection as well as other humanitarian assistance."

For more information please contact Aida Kaspar at IOM Mali, Tel.: +223 90 50 05 05, Email: aguissekaspar@iom.int

Kano, Nigeria | AFP | Friday 6/5/2015 - 10:55 GMT

by Aminu ABUBAKAR

The death toll from two blasts in northeast Nigeria rose to 35 on Friday, raising the total number killed in suspected Boko Haram attacks to 82 during President Muhammadu Buhari's first week in office.

Rescue officials in the Adamawa state's capital Yola said 31 people had been confirmed dead in the explosion that ripped through a market on Thursday, with another 38 wounded.

The Yola blast followed a suspected suicide bombing in Maiduguri, capital of neighbouring Borno state, that killed at least four people when a truck carrying firewood rammed into a checkpoint outside a military barracks.

The violence on Thursday came as Buhari ended his first foreign trip since taking office.

He visited Chad and Niger, which with Cameroon are Nigeria's key allies in the battle against an Islamist uprising blamed for 15,000 deaths since 2009.

Buhari urged closer regional security cooperation, thanking troops from Nigeria's neighbours for their efforts to date while demanding more action from a multi-national force battling the insurgents on the frontline.

He vowed to crush the Islamists when he was sworn in one week ago but the spate of bombings through his first week in office highlighted the severity of the challenge.

Boko Haram has been weakened by a four-nation offensive launched in February but the extremists have proved resilient in the past.

A new video released by the group -- its first for several months and first under the banner of the "Islamic State in West Africa" -- insisted the rebels were still to be reckoned with.

Toll rises

Yola had been seen as a relative safe haven in Nigeria's embattled northeast, with no confirmed Islamist attacks in several years.

The fresh explosion hit the popular Jimeta Main Market at about 7:40 pm (1840 GMT), as traders were finishing business.

"So far, we have 31 dead victims and 38 people in hospital receiving treatment", the National Emergency Management Agency's coordinator in the city Sa'ad Bello told AFP.

An inital toll from the Adamawa state police said two people were killed.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the blast bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram who have frequently targeted crowded markets.

The Maiduguri explosion outside the Maimalari Barracks at about 5:00 pm killed four people and also resembled past strikes by the insurgents, who have made suicide attacks the military a key feature of their uprising.

Regional cooperation

Buhari was on Thursday in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, for talks with his counterpart Idriss Deby after visiting Niger on Wednesday.

"Your troops have stood shoulder to shoulder and fought gallantly with ours in the fight against the forces of evil," the 72-year-old former military ruler told Deby.

Deby for his part "reaffirmed Chad's involvement and availability" to work with Nigeria, according to a statement from his office.

Anglophone Nigeria has typically viewed its Francophone neighbours with suspicion, which has been blamed for the lack of a joined-up approach in tackling the militants.

On Wednesday, the military in Abuja announced that a Nigerian officer had taken charge of the new African Union-backed Multi-National Joint Task Force based in N'Djamena.

The 8,700-strong unit, made up of military personnel, police and civilians from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon, had been due to be deployed last November.

Buhari said "sustained and robust" regional cooperation was essential because of the cross-border threat posed by Boko Haram.

Deadly week

Buhari has ordered the military's command centre be moved from the capital, Abuja, to Maiduguri, where Boko Haram was founded in 2002 and which is regarded as its spiritual home.

The army has since been tested with two rocket attacks on the city, as well as an explosion opposite a military facility on Wednesday, which left at least 18 dead.

There were also two suicide bomb attacks -- one at a mosque on Saturday that killed 26 and another on Tuesday at a cattle market, in which 13 people died.

While Maiduguri residents have come to expect relentless bombings, a surge of violence in Yola will create new challenges for Buhari as he strives to pacify the northeast.

The city has been home to hundreds of thousands of people displaced by fighting elsewhere in the region.

Hundreds of women and children kidnapped by Boko Haram have also been brought to camps in the city after they were rescued during recent military operations in the rebels' Sambisa Forest stronghold in Borno.

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© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

GENEVA (5 June 2015) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Friday said interviews with individuals who had fled or were rescued from towns previously held by Boko Haram painted a picture of “absolute terror and grave human rights violations” by the insurgents in northeast Nigeria, and also yielded reports of violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law by Nigerian armed forces.

The High Commissioner urged the new administration of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent measures to bring to justice perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses, whether non-State or State actors. He also called on the authorities to ensure that counter-insurgency operations do not result in furthering the human rights devastation in the northeast of the country.

“Civilians in northeast Nigeria have been living through horrifying acts of cruelty and violence by Boko Haram. These include wanton killings, summary executions, forced participation in military operations – including the use of children to detonate bombs, forced labour, forced marriage and sexual violence, including rape,” High Commissioner Zeid said.

Eye witnesses described how, in an attack in April on Kwajafa village in Borno State, insurgents asked villagers to gather and hear them preach. When the villagers gathered, the insurgents opened fire. The UN Human Rights Office has also received a video recording an execution, allegedly of a girl who refused to convert to Islam.

“We have reports of children who were suspected of theft and had their hands amputated, of a man stoned to death on accusations of fornication, mass executions of captives whose hands and legs were bound and who were dumped into rivers and wells. In one incident reported to have taken place in late 2014, Boko Haram allegedly assembled and brutally killed at least 1,000, possibly many more, male inhabitants of Mararaba Madagali in Adamawa State. These were men and boys who refused to join Boko Haram’s depraved cause.”

The High Commissioner said extremely worrying reports had also emerged about the actions of Nigerian armed forces. One victim recounted his ordeal when he was mistaken for a Boko Haram member and detained by the military in Yola in Adamawa State. The man said he spent five days without food or water, as detainees drank the urine of others to quench their thirst. He claimed that there was an average of five deaths per day in the facility.

“My predecessor, Navi Pillay, during her visit to Nigeria last year said that many of the people she met openly acknowledged that human rights violations had been committed by the security forces, and that these have served to alienate local communities and created fertile ground for Boko Haram to cultivate new recruits,” Zeid said.

“Since then we have continued to receive reports of arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and summary executions, as well as of a failure to take adequate measures to ensure the protection of civilians during counter-insurgency operations. Reports issued by international NGOs, as well as the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria indicate that the scale of the violations may be massive.”

Zeid acknowledged the tremendous challenges faced by the Government of Nigeria in its efforts to combat Boko Haram, but he stressed the importance of ensuring that security forces uphold the rule of law, in accordance with their human rights obligations.

“I am encouraged by President Buhari’s promise that this new administration will leave no stone unturned to promote the rule of law and ensure justice and the protection of human rights while countering terrorism,” Zeid said. “I urge him to act without delay to establish proper independent inquiries into alleged violations of international human rights and international humanitarian law by the Nigerian armed forces and related militia, and in particular into the deeply disturbing allegations that thousands of people have died or been killed while held in detention by State institutions.”

“We understand that there have been a number of investigations by the authorities and we call on them to publicize the findings. Investigations into human rights violations must be conducted in a transparent manner, in order to inspire confidence and deter further violations,” the High Commissioner said.

“This is crucial to ensure that victims of Boko Haram’s crimes are not doubly victimized by their own Government.”

The High Commissioner stressed that the UN Human Rights Office stood ready to advice the Government on ensuring its counter-terrorism operations are in line with international law. The Office is currently advising the military authorities on a review of the rules of engagement and the code of conduct for counter-terrorism and military operations in the northeast.

High Commissioner Zeid also called on the authorities to ensure that those who have been rescued from towns previously held by Boko Haram have access to psychosocial help and assistance in reintegrating into their communities.

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact please contact Rupert Colville (+41 79 506 1088 / rcolville@ohchr.org) or Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org) or Cécile Pouilly (+41 22 917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org)

Alger, Algérie | AFP | vendredi 05/06/2015 - 11:42 GMT

La Coordination des mouvements de l'Azawad (CMA), qui fédère les principaux groupes rebelles du nord malien, signera le 20 juin l'accord pour la paix et la réconciliation au Mali, a annoncé vendredi à l'AFP son leader.

"Nous signerons l'accord de paix le 20 juin", a déclaré Bilal Ag Acherif, le principal négociateur de la rébellion à dominante touareg, à l'issue d'une rencontre à Alger avec la médiation internationale conduite par l'Algérie concernant des arrangements sécuritaires.

La signature par la CMA de l'accord de paix aura lieu à Bamako, selon un document qui doit être signé vendredi à Alger et dont l'AFP a pris connaissance.

Cet accord pour la paix et la réconciliation au Mali a déjà été signé le 15 mai à Bamako par le gouvernement malien, mais la rébellion à dominante touareg, qui réclamait des discussions supplémentaires, avait refusé de parapher le texte final.

L'accord vise à instaurer une paix durable dans le nord du Mali, qui est tombé à la fin du premier trimestre 2012 sous la coupe de groupes jihadistes liés à Al-Qaïda après la déroute de l'armée face à la rébellion touareg, d'abord alliée à ces groupes qui l'ont ensuite évincée.

Les jihadistes ont été dispersés et partiellement chassés de cette zone par une opération militaire internationale déclenchée en janvier 2013 et toujours en cours. Mais des zones entières du Nord du Mali échappent encore au contrôle du pouvoir central.

Depuis quelques jours, gouvernement et rébellion discutaient à Alger, sous l'égide la médiation internationale, de documents sur la paix et la sécurité dans le pays, visant notamment à rétablir le cessez-le-feu battu en brèche depuis plus d'un mois dans le Nord.

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© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Friday 6/5/2015 - 11:45 GMT

The head of Mali's main Tuareg-led rebel groups said on Friday that his movement will sign a final deal to end the conflict in the west African nation on June 20.

The Coordination of Azawad Movements headed by Bilal Ag Cherif initialled a peace agreement with the Malian government in Algiers on May 14 but held out on a final deal until some changes were made.

"We will sign the peace accord on June 20," Cherif said following talks in Algiers on security issues.

According to a document seen by AFP the signing ceremony will be held in Bamako.

It will come more than three weeks after the Malian government and several armed groups signed the so-called "Algiers Accord" at a ceremony also in Bamako, but spurned by the CMA.

The Algiers Accord aims to bring stability to northern Mali, cradle of several Tuareg uprisings since the 1960s and a stronghold for jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda.

Cherif and government representatives have been holding talks in Algiers over the past few days to thrash out security and political concerns raised by the CMA.

According to the Bamako government, they will sign later on Friday a "security accord" in Algiers, paving the way for the final agreement to be signed by the CMA in Mali later this month.

The CMA has been demanding that an amended final deal recognise "Azawad", the name used by the Tuareg for the northern part of Mali, as a "geographic, political and juridical entity".

The Algiers Accord calls for the creation of elected regional assemblies but not autonomy or federalism, in deference to government concerns of separatism.

Mali was shaken by a coup in 2012 which cleared the way for Tuareg separatists to seize the towns and cities of the vast northern desert.

Al-Qaeda-linked militants then overpowered the Tuareg, seizing control of northern Mali for nearly 10 months until they were ousted in a French-led military offensive.

But Mali remains deeply divided, with the Tuareg and Arab populations of the north accusing sub-Saharan ethnic groups in the more prosperous south of marginalising them.

Northern Mali has seen an upsurge in attacks by pro-government militias and various factions of the Tuareg-led rebellion, leaving many dead on both sides.

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HIGHLIGHTS

• The Governor of Adamawa State Mr. Bala Ngilari recently stated that efforts undertaken to stifle the terrorist threat are far from over. IDP camps are now facing a significant threat, and the Governor has sounded the alarm. Most sites, he says, have been infiltrated by members of the sect disguised as IDPs, making it difficult to differentiate them from persons of concern. These occurrences also have been reported in other locations such as Maiduguri in Borno State.

• General Muhammadu Buhari was inaugurated as the fifth President of the fourth Nigerian Republic on 29 May.

• According to Chadian authorities, the security situation in Baga Sola, including in surrounding areas, has remained calm this week. The deployment of Nigerian, Niger and Chadian armed forces to remote areas of the lake is complete, and will enable the latter to launch an offensive against insurgents. Moreover, the Chadian National Assembly has voted in favour of extending the mandate of Chadian armed forces in Cameroon and Nigeria.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

The third round of the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) conducted in April 2015 showed 1.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in six states of north-east Nigeria. During the month of May 2015, several attacks by insurgents forced people to flee their homes and seek refuge in other communities and prevented others from returning home. Since the last displacement assessment, the number of IDPs in Borno have become more concentrated in the state capital, Maiduguri. This will probably only be reflected in the fourth DTM expected to be released later in June.

The rains in north-east Nigeria have been delayed. Insecurity has also affected people's access to food. At least three million people are expected to be in need of food assistance in the coming months.