{"id":12271,"date":"2023-01-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/mali-who-doctor-seized-by-unidentified-assailants-as-unhcr-raises-alarm-over-continuing-violence\/"},"modified":"2023-01-24T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T12:00:00","slug":"mali-who-doctor-seized-by-unidentified-assailants-as-unhcr-raises-alarm-over-continuing-violence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=12271","title":{"rendered":"Mali: WHO doctor seized by \u2018unidentified assailants\u2019, as UNHCR raises alarm over continuing violence"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a tweet<\/a> posted on Tuesday that WHO was working with local authorities to investigate the abduction of Dr. Mahamadou Diawara, who had worked for the agency in the town for around three years, \u201cand ensure our colleague\u2019s quick return to his family.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHO said in a statement that he had been \u201cleading efforts to provide medical care to communities that are often remote and face insecurity risks and violence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The driver of his car was also attacked, but not abducted, and was said to be recovering from the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe motive for the abduction\u00a0is unclear\u201d at this time, said WHO.<\/p>\n

Support wanes for those forced to flee<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In another sign of the wider instability still gripping much of Mali, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) earlier called for enhanced support by the international community, for those recently displaced across the northwest African nation, where continued violence and threats by armed groups have forced both local Malians and refugees to flee for safety.<\/p>\n

Mohamed Toure, UNHCR\u2019s Mali representative said at a press briefing in Geneva that a vacuum had been created since the end of a counter-insurgency operation led by the French military against Islamist militants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this vacuum right now, we don\u2019t have any State authorities in that region, so it is really left in the hands of armed groups, terrorist armed groups, that are really spreading terror, spreading killings, spreading rapes, creating misery\u201d.<\/p>\n

Operation Barkhane was an initiative which began on 1 August 2014 and formally ended on 9 November 2022. It was led by the French military against Islamist groups across Africa’s Sahel region.<\/p>\n

The operation was led in co-operation with five countries that span the Sahel: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger. France began withdrawing its troops from Mali last February.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
\n

\u00a9 UNOCHA\/Michele Cattani<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Displaced women prepare food at an informal camp in Bagoundi\u00e9, Mali.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Longtime refugees running again<\/h2>\n

The numbers fleeing from those countries has notably increased in the past few weeks, “including refugees who have been displaced for quite a long number of years, of time\u201d, said Mr. Toure.<\/p>\n

Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal are some of the towns to which the refugees are currently fleeing to seek for security. UNHCR and its partners are supporting local authorities in responding to the needs of the forcibly displaced, providing them with emergency shelter, education, food and water supplies, together with cash assistance aimed at economic empowerment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are talking about almost half a million people who are in need of assistance in terms of displacement\u201d, said UNHCR\u2019s Mali representative.<\/p>\n

3 million in need<\/h2>\n

\u201cOf course, beyond that, in Mali we have almost three million people who are in need of humanitarian assistance\u201d, he added, and just 38 per cent of the support asked for last year was provided.<\/p>\n

UNHCR said that as of the end of December, they were hosting more than 60,000 refugees in Mali, including 25,000 from Burkina Faso. Meanwhile, some 440,000 Malians remain internally displaced due to continued violence and threats from armed groups.<\/p>\n

Mr. Toure said that refugees had received frequent testimonies from refugees and IDPs reporting the presence of foreign fighters, \u201cinvolved in those conflicts\u201d.<\/p>\n

Show greater solidarity<\/h2>\n

As the needs of the displaced remain enormous, UNHCR is appealing to the international community to show greater solidarity for the displaced in Mali and in neighboring countries, to be able to continue to deliver life-saving assistance.<\/p>\n

He pointed to a \u201ckind of Mali fatigue\u201d in terms of fundraising and support, which was \u201cdiminishing drastically\u201d the level of assistance being provided to vulnerable families on the run.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n