ICRC: Drinking water a source of concern in Mali

The humanitarian situation in northern Mali is still a source of concern, with displaced people in the north-east corner of the country lacking food and water, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said in a statement . “The country is facing a difficult humanitarian situation,” said Jean Nicholas Marti, the head of the ICRC regional delegation for Mali and Niger. “In the northern region, access to drinking water is still a big worry for recently displaced people in Tinzawatene, close to the Algerian border and in some other towns such as Menaka, Timbuktu or Gao,” Marti added, noting that the ICRC and the Mali Red Cross are working to help people who have been affected by the conflict. Teams of relief workers from the ICRC and the Mali Red Cross have handed out jerrycans and water purification tablets to almost 5,400 displaced persons in Tinzawatene. They are also repairing wells in the Akharabane and Achibriche areas, which are also near to the Algerian border, where there has been an influx of displaced persons. The situation is particularly worrying because residents are having to share their meagre resources with the newcomers. In order to keep pumping stations going, 20,000 liters of fuel were recently trucked to Gao and 3,000 litres to Menaka, a town with a resident population of approximately 23,000. Timbutktu received a delivery of 33,000 liters of fuel. Thanks to this support, the town now has a sufficient reserve of drinking water to supply its resident population of approximately 40,000 for the next three to four weeks. The ICRC has thus ensuring water supplies in Gao, Timbuktu and Kidal, the main towns in northern Mali, since the beginning of 2012. The ICRC and the Mali Red Cross have supplied about 4,000 displaced persons in Tinzawatene with essential items such as tarpaulins, hygiene kits, kitchen utensils, clothing, and mosquito nets. About 165 tons of food should also be distributed to 9,000 people over the next few days. The ICRC-supported hospital treated 13 people injured in the recent fighting in Gao. Last week, there were 341 consultations, 46 admissions and 12 births in this regional medical center. With many people reported to have been arrested since hostilities resumed in Mali, the ICRC is pursuing dialogue with the parties to the conflict with a view to gaining access to everyone who has been arrested or detained anywhere in Mali in relation to the fighting. ICRC delegates have been able to visit persons detained by the Malian authorities in Mopti, Sevare and Bamako, in order to assess their conditions of detention and their treatment. The ICRC discusses any possible observations and recommendations with the detaining authorities in a confidential, bilateral dialogue.