The United Nations condemned, on Thursday, the bloody attack carried out by suspected militants on Monday against a site for the displaced in the city of Kadji, located about ten kilometers from Gao (northern Mali).
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said, “The Humanitarian Coordinator in the Republic of Mali, Alain Noudho, condemns the attack that killed 11 internally displaced people.”
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed that, “On November 21, an attack on an internally displaced person site in Kadji, a town located in the town of Gonzourieh, about 7 kilometers southeast of Gao, killed 11 people and wounded another.”
According to the United Nations, the attackers set fire to shelters for the displaced and food stocks, and took all the livestock.
Psychosocial support for women and children who witness this violence
According to the media, the regions of Gao and Menaka are sometimes the scene of violence by jihadist groups. These clashes between armed groups that originated in these vast expanses of desert generally lead to abuses against civilians.
In the field, along with the Gao Regional Social Development Office, humanitarian partners have provided psychosocial support to women and children who have witnessed this violence.
“These displaced people fleeing insecurity have been doubly affected by the violence of this attack, exacerbating their vulnerability,” said Humanitarian Coordinator Alain Nodho. “It is important to protect civilians everywhere in the country, including the displaced.”
This renewed tension comes in the context of the announcement of the withdrawal from countries within the peacekeeping forces of the United Nations Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The latest announcement is the announcement by the German government, on Tuesday, to withdraw its soldiers deployed in this West African country, no later than May 2024.
