Algeria Red Crescent: no refugee has entered Algerian borders since war on Mali broke out

Since the launch of the French military campaign on Mali, no Malian refugee has entered the south of Algeria. There were 500 refugees before the campaign started, according to Secretary General of the Algerian Red Crescent.

“The Algerian State allocated physical and human means to Malian refugees on its borders. Blankets and tents are offered to Malians who fled the war,” Lahcen Bouchakour said on radio.

“The Red Crescent is ready to mobilize its elements to look after refuges. No refugee had entered the south of Algeria since the military campaign started,” he added.

The Red Crescent’s president Hadj Hamou Ben Zaghir said latest figures show that the number of Malian refugees is estimated at 500. They have rights stipulated in the 1951 Refugee Convention with international organizations including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“Anyway, Algeria is ready to give humanitarian aid to Malians,” he added.

Earlier, the United Nations High Commissioner’s representative in Algeria Ralf H. W. Gruenert said the financial needs for the aid operations of the UNHCR’s Office for Malian refugees are estimated at more than US$120 million, including 63 percent that have been already allocated by international donors.

According to Gruenert, a total of 144,000 Malian refugees were recorded in the neighboring countries, including 54,000 in Mauritania, 50,000 in Niger and more than 38,000 in Burkina Faso.