Brussels, 25/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - At the moment, the Serval military operation in Mali has not led to any massive increase in humanitarian needs, but the situation could deteriorate rapidly, warned EU International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva on Friday, calling on the international community to be generous in its response. She also called for respect of humanitarian law and human rights at a press conference in Brussels after a needs assessment trip to Mali (see EUROPE 10769) and a visit to neighbouring Burkina Faso along with French development minister Pascal Canfin, where they visited the Mentao refugee camp. Burkino Faso currently has some 40,000 Malian refugees.
Georgieva said there were serious humanitarian needs although, for the moment, the military operation has not led to any massive increase or further floods of refugees. She said there were reports of fewer than 10,000 newly displaced people (some 6,000 to 8,000 have fled the fighting adding to the 360,000 displaced people and refugees from 2012), but the fighting is moving towards Timbuctoo so this might change. The refugees in Burkina Faso, she added, say that there are bound to be more people arriving. Closure of the border with Algeria has prevented humanitarian aid being sent that way and closure of the Bamako-Gao road is a major concern, said Georgieva. She said that, in her talks with the Malian government, she had stressed the urgent need to rapidly expand the “humanitarian area” by giving humanitarian organisations the permits the Malian government is now demanding to allow them to work in the north of the country to protect civilians and ensure respect of humanitarian law. Georgieva said she was even more concerned by the reports of alleged reprisals and attacks on the Tuareg and Arab communities in northern Mali and said the Mali army needed urgent training in humanitarian law to prevent such reprisals.
The European Commission has mobilised €20 million in additional humanitarian aid to ensure that lack of finance does not act as a brake on supplying people's needs, said the Commissioner, urging the whole international community to do more. She said the situation required rapid action.
The state of affairs in Mali will be discussed at an African Union summit in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) on 27 and 28 January 2013, to be attended by EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs on behalf of the European Commission, and also at a donors conference on Tuesday 29 January. (AN/transl.fl)