UN Refugee Agency - The African Mirror

Jun

2023

Over 1 million may flee Sudan conflict, UN refugee agency says

THE U.N. refugee agency warned that an earlier projection that conflict in Sudan would prompt 1 million people to flee across its borders is likely to be surpassed. So far, the conflict between warring military factions that began in mid-April has caused nearly 600,000 people to escape into neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad, South Sudan and Central African Republic. "Unfortunately, looking at the trends, looking at the situation in Darfur, we're likely to go beyond 1 million," Raouf Mazou, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, said in response to a question about its estimate in April for the coming six…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

UN refugee agency ‘greatly alarmed’ over mass displacement in Congo conflict

NEWS

THE U.N. Refugee Agency said it was "greatly alarmed" by clashes between government forces and armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that had caused hundreds of thousands to flee. Speaking to reporters in Geneva, UNHCR spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh said the violence had prompted nearly 300,000 people to flee across Rutshuru and Masisi territories of DRC's North Kivu Province in February. "Civilians continue to pay the heavy and bloody price of conflict, including women and children who barely escaped the violence and are now sleeping out in the open air in spontaneous or organised sites, exhausted and traumatised,"…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Actor Blanchett sees pandemic as chance for reflection on plight of refugees

HUMAN RIGHTS

MARIE-LOUISE GUMUCHIAN THIS year's World Refugee Day offers a chance to reflect on the uncertainty faced by those forced to flee their homes, Oscar winner Cate Blanchett says as the world grapples with the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Australian actor, a goodwill ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, said the annual June 20 event came during a time of "challenge and reflection". "We've been forced to confront what uncertainty feels like and of course that is the situation that the majority of refugees live with, year in, year out," Blanchett told Reuters in an interview. "There's a…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Armed attacks displaced over 17,500 in past 10 days’

NEWS

MORE than 17,500 people in Burkina Faso have been forcefully displaced from their homes in the past 10 days due to a series of attacks by unidentified armed groups that have killed 45 people, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Attacks by jihadist armed groups linked to al Qaeda and the Islamic State in the West African Sahel region have been rising sharply since the start of the year, particularly in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, with civilians bearing the brunt. The UNHCR report said gunmen had carried out a series of attacks in three separate regions, burning down…