Head of UNHCR Briefs on Malian Refugee Crisis

At a press conference in Geneva today, António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), urged countries to provide support for the severely under-funded operation for the large number of refugees fleeing Mali. He spoke to reporters about his recent visit to the Damba camp, which is currently home to some 1,200 refugees, in northern Burkina Faso. Since January, over 250,000 people have poured into neighbouring countries to escape armed conflict and political instability in Mali. Some 174,000 Malians are estimated to be internally displaced.