By Arwa Al-Wagayan
BASSIKOUNOU, Mauritania, Oct 14 (KUNA) -- Tens of thousands of Malians have fled their native towns in northern Mali after the eruption of fighting between the government and the rebel groups in 2012 and crossed the borders to neighboring Mauritania where they settled in Mbera camp in Basssikounou.
Located at an arid desert in one of the poorest and most neglected parts of Mauritania, the UN supervised Mbera camp, which hosts nearly 52,000 refugees lacks the basics for living.
The camp residents suffer from extreme poverty, malnutrition, poor infrastructure and dearth of economic opportunities.
Many of the camp residents are living in tents made of scrap cloth and sticks which do not protect them from the severe weather in summer or winter.
"This is the second influx of Malian refugees into Mauritania," Ahmad Ajmalaha, a spokesman of the camp refugees, told KUNA.
Malians have fled their country to take refuge in Mauritania after the eruption of an armed conflict in 1990 between the government and Tuareg ebels.
After the improvement in the security situation, they voluntarily returned back home.
"But they returned back again to Mauritania in 2012 after the flare up of new bout of fighting between the government forces and rebels in northern Mali," he said.
He added that the refugees were welcomed by Mauritanian authorities and international humanitarian partners.
Ajmalaha noted that Mbera camp lacks many things the basic requirements for living, he lamented.
He pointed out that relief agencies provide refugees with a monthly food ration of nine kilograms of rice.
"We hope they would add sugar and milk to the monthly ration," he said.
He called on the UN agencies to help improve shelters in the camp as the current tents could not stand the rough desert weather.
"Worse still, Mأ©decins Sans Frontiأ¨res (MSF) the only healthcare provider is the camp has announced that it would suspend activities in the camp in 2018.
"This announcement has caused widespread panic among the camp residents," he told KUNA.
Ajmalaha urged the international organizations and the world to double efforts to provide Malian refugees in Mbera with better services.
He underlined the need for educational and vocational training services for refugees.
He called on Arab and Muslim countries to rush for the help of Malian refugees in Mauritania.
For his part, coordinator of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) operations in Mbera camp Henri-S ylvain Yakara told KUNA that the situation in the camp is getting complicated.
"The influx of Malian refugees continues unabated due to the volatile security situation in Mali," Yakara told KUNA.
He noted that the UNHCR provides refugees not only with humanitarian aid, but also with job opportunities and encourages them to set up their own small businesses.
He, however, cautioned that the lack of adequate fund is gravely impacting the UNHCR operations there. "We have received only 19 percent of the required fund, but we are doing our best to provide relief aid to both the residents and newcomers," he said.
A camp resident Fatima Mohammad told KUNA that she arrived in the camp with her three children a month ago after fleeing the insecurity in her hometown in northern Mali.
"I feel more secure here, but I fear for the life of my children due to the scarcity of food and water here," she said. (end) akw.ibi