UN concerned over global response to Mali refugee crisis

New York, 3 Aug – (ANA) – The United Nations has urged countries to provide support for the severely under-funded operation for the large number of refugees fleeing Mali.  “We have now 257,000 refugees from Mali who are going through an enormous level of suffering and deprivation,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, during a visit to the Damba camp, which is home to some 1,200 Malian refugees, in northern Burkina Faso.   Accompanied by the US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Anne C. Richard, the UN refugee chief Guterres was in Burkina Faso to review the situation for Malian refugees.    While in the Damba camp, Mr. Guterres visited the site’s registration centre where a UNHCR team collects detailed information on number of refugees in official sites to be able to provide them with adequate assistance according to their needs. The registration is scheduled to take place in all official sites in Burkina Faso over the next few weeks, the agency said.  (ANA)

FA/ANA/3 August 2012-------