Dakar — The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that clashes over the weekend between the French-backed Malian army and Al Qaeda-linked Islamist groups in northern and central Mali have resulted in new population displacement - both within Mali and into neighbouring countries.
In Niger, UNHCR teams are reporting that 450 refugees arrived on Friday and Saturday in the west of the country at Mangaize camp (north of Ouallam), Banibangou and Tillabery towns as well as in the Tillia area. "Refugees are telling us they fled the ongoing military intervention, the absence of subsistence opportunities and basic services, and the imposition of Sharia law," spokesman Adrian Edwards said.
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