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Malian Refugees Return to Camp They Fled in Burkina Faso

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - The U.N. refugee agency says improved security
   has allowed 3,000 refugees from conflict-ridden Mali return to a camp
   in Burkina Faso they abandoned nine months ago following attacks by
   armed extremists.

   Some 9,000 Malians in Burkina Faso's Goudoubo refugee camp fled in
   terror when they came under fire by armed extremists in March. About
   5,000 made the difficult decision to return to Mali, a country still in
   turmoil. The U.N. refugee agency assisted them upon arrival.

   Many of the remaining refugees fled to the nearby town of Dori, where
   they have been living under dire conditions. UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia
   Mantoo toldVOA that national authorities have reinforced security in
   and around Goudoubo, making it possible for the refugees to return to
   the camp.

   "For the 3,000 that have returned back to the camps, they were
   relocated in 31 convoys in buses and trucks to the camp. So, another
   150 refugees arrived on their own in motorcycles and in tricycle taxis.
   And, others moved on foot, accompanying their cattle," she said.

   Mantoo saidanother 2,100 refugees are expected to move back to Goudoubo
   from the Mentao camp this month. She said the Malians will have better
   access to services in the camp. She said1,500 new shelters have been
   built, health clinics have been refurbished, schools are welcoming
   students and returning refugees have begun reopening small businesses.

   "But despite the welcome relocations, we are continuing to warn that
   attacks by armed groups in the Sahel will lead to further displacement
   in the region that is already hosting 2 million IDPs and hundreds of
   thousands of refugees. Across the Sahel, refugees and internally
   displaced people and their hosts are subjected to brutal violence,
   rape, execution. It is really horrible and now the pandemic is adding a
   new layer of hardships," said Mantoo.

   Burkina Faso is at the epicenter of one of the world's fastest-growing
   displacement and protection crises. The UNHCR says more than one
   million people in the country are internally displaced and more than
   20,000 Malians have taken refuge there.