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A sudden surge in clashes and aerial bombardments has forced nearly 40,000 people to flee their homes in northern and central Mali, humanitarian and local sources confirmed on Tuesday.
The mass displacement follows an intensified offensive launched in April by a coalition of Tuareg separatists and Al-Qaeda-aligned militants, who captured the northern city of Kidal and killed the nation’s defence minister.
Fighting in areas like Anefis and recent military airstrikes in Tinzawatene have pushed thousands of families toward safety in towns such as Gao and Menaka.
Local officials and aid groups report that the sudden influx of refugees over the past three months marks an unprecedented scale of displacement for the region.
Many displaced families fleeing destroyed health centres and violence originate from the hard-hit Kidal region.
The latest escalation compounds Mali’s ongoing security crisis, which has displaced over 400,000 people since 2012 and continues to undermine the military government’s promises to restore stability.
