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Lack of violence could end displacement in Mali this year: IOM

Xinhua, March 3, 2017 Adjust font size:

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated Friday that if there is not a resurgence of violence in Mali in the coming months, internal displacement could be resolved by the end of 2017.

"If there is no re-occurrence of armed conflict or community violence spurring further displacement, and with the right humanitarian assistance to the displaced and host communities, I am confident that, at the end of 2017, internal displacement will be a thing of the past," Bakary Doumbia, IOM Mali Chief of Mission, said in a statement.

"Numbers have already decreased by over ninety percent," he added.

IOM displacement figures reveal that a total of 531,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since January 2012.

This massive displacement was caused mainly by the armed rebellion in northern parts of the African country, resulting in a military coup in 2012, and communal violence in 2016.

According to figures released by the Malian government, 44,762 individuals are currently displaced across the country. Sixty-one percent of them are located in northern regions such as Gao, Menaka and Tombouctou. Endit