West Africa: UN Alarmed As Number of Displaced in Central Sahel Reaches Nearly Four Million

What the report says

The United Nations has warned of a deepening displacement crisis in the central Sahel, where nearly four million people have fled their homes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, according to a report carried by AllAfrica from Radio France Internationale and Reuters/AFP. The UN refugee agency said the total is more than twice what it was six years ago, before the recent wave of coups in a region already affected by insecurity and violence.

UNHCR said the displaced population includes 818,000 refugees and asylum seekers. The agency linked the worsening situation to continuing attacks on civilians, climate-related shocks and major shortfalls in humanitarian funding. Its regional director for West and Central Africa, Abdouraouf Gnon-Konde, said the pressures are pushing more families to move and making it harder for people to rebuild their lives.

The report also highlighted strain in host communities, especially in Mali, where many refugees are arriving from neighboring Burkina Faso. In the central Malian town of Koro, refugee numbers were said to be close to the size of the local population, increasing pressure on land, water and health services.

UNHCR warned that the crisis is spreading beyond the central Sahel into coastal West Africa, including Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo. The agency said its work in the region is constrained by a severe funding gap, with only part of its needed budget covered as of September. This matters because the displacement is now a regional humanitarian issue, not only a security concern.