Around 6.5 million people were newly displaced, almost twice as many as the 3.5 million during 2011. The conflicts in Syria and DRC were responsible for around half of the new displacements.

By Kåre Kristensen and Boubacar Ba

Executive summary

This report is based on interviews with Malians during the current crisis in that country.

Malians were astonished that the capacity of the Malian government and army could collapse to zero overnight. Many interviewees were worried about the problems of drug, weapons and people trafficking, and the kidnapping of foreigners for ransom.

10 April 2013 – Dozens of women from the Sahel have met with the United Nations envoy to the region and the world organization’s top official for women’s issues, at a conference to recommend ways to boost economic recovery, political stability and conflict prevention in the troubled African region.

“Ultimately, the women of the Sahel will be instrumental in putting the region on a path to stability,” the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Sahel, Romano Prodi, told the Conference on Women’s Leadership in Sahel in Brussels on 9 April.

Despite the perceived threat to international peace and security presented by the crisis in Mali, the international community did not act to resolve it for nearly ten months, which allowed Islamists to militarily take control of the whole of northern Mali and impose sharia law.

General Situation during March 2013 Forecast until mid-May 2013

Humanitarian access continues to improve in Mali's central regions, and assistance to these areas is increasing. In the north, aid activities remain limited due to insecurity. Military operations, mine incidents and violence by armed groups continue to create a highly volatile operating environment.

La situation relative au Criquet pèlerin est restée préoccupante en février dans les aires de reproduction hivernale le long des deux rives de la mer Rouge, où les infestations acridiennes ont continué à augmenter.

The Desert Locust situation remained worrisome during February in the winter breeding areas along both sides of the Red Sea where locust infestations continued to increase. Adults formed groups and swarms in Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia. Some of these moved into crops along the Nile River in northern Sudan, laid eggs and caused damage, while a limited number of groups and swarms moved north along the Egyptian coast where they could eventually threaten the Nile Delta. Substantial control operations were carried out by the three countries.