Famine Spreads in Central Mali Amid Ongoing Islamist Violence
- At least 10 people died of hunger in one small town last week
- UN says Mali has highest number of displaced in five years
An Internally Displaced People's (IDP) camp in Faladie central Mali.
Photographer: Michelle Cattani/AFP via Getty Images
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At least 10 people died of hunger last week in food-starved central Mali, where dozens of villages are blocked off from the outside world because Islamist militants have planted landmines near major roads.
The presence of Islamist militant groups and militias in Mali’s center is preventing farmers from growing crops, and cattle herders have moved elsewhere because of theft and the inaccessibility of grazing land. That’s led to severe malnutrition, with an estimated 550,000 people in urgent need of food aid, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said July 25.