For long, Mali has been facing the worst from multiple terror groups. According to the latest news, about fifty Jihadists attacked the Niger refugee camp based at the Intikane site near the Malian border. As a result, thousand escaped in fear for their lives. Reports say that the fighters were on motorbikes.
Besides, they killed three local leaders, destroyed communication antennas, damaged water supply channels, and abducted a guard. Intikane is a home for more than 15,000 displaced Nigerians and about 20,000 Malian refugees. All had to flee their villages because of violence. Following the recent attack, many are on the move again. About 3,000 people fled to Tlemces, which is located 43 miles from Intikane.
Authority response
Now UNHCR has to repair the damage for operations to get back to normal. For instance, Kourouma Mamady Fatta said the agency is evaluating the destruction. The board aims to restore the water supply in the region as soon as possible.
Besides, Governor Moussa Abdourahamane said that Intikane is failing its residents as people are moving to Tlemces. Moussa also reacted in a countrywide radio station after visiting Intikane.
He said that the Jihadists attacked a susceptible site leaving communication and water channels spoiled. Sure, this is terrible as people depend on these facilities to survive. However, reports said that troops are in place to protect the area.
Increased violence in Refugee Camp
Mali conflict is now revolving into multistate racial cleansing. In recent years, fighters linked to ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda terror groups have increasingly mounted attacks across Saleh. Also, there are thousands of foreign and regional troops in the region. These hits affect Burkina Faso and Mali, rendering swathes of ungovernable nations. They even spill into Niger, which shares extensive and porous borders with its two neighbors.
Niger is home for almost 60,000 Malian refugees who fled their country. Most of them run away after the al-Qaeda group took over Mali in 2012. However, a French military succeeded in defeating the terror group the following year, but Mali remained out of governance and flooded with armed groups. Niger also suffered unrest in its southeast region.
Besides, this as a result of Islamic State and Boko Haram attacks in West Africa Province. As of January, West Africa UN envoy told the UN Security Council that the attacks have hiked in Burkina Faso. Niger and Mali also suffer from the same since 2016. In 2019, the three nations recorded more than 4,000 deaths as a result of violence.
Conclusion
Indeed, it terrible to see how Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso suffer from these frequent attacks. In my opinion, now is the time to secure these borders once and for all. African community is tired of losing civilians and soldiers.
The governments should unite and come up with a strategy to defeat these terror groups as soon as possible. Despite the challenges, together, we can restore African dignity and freedom. After all, we should create a safe society for future generations.
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