The UN agency released through a report that, according to estimates, among the countries with the highest numbers of people who left their homes to other states are Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, which together currently account for about 410,000 refugees.

For his part, UNHCR spokesman, Boris Cheschirkov, detailed that the exodus of people in these Sahel territories is mainly caused by attacks against civilian communities by extremist formations and criminal groups, which last year led some 800 attacks in the area.

In his statement, the official called on the international community to support with resources the nations of the Sahel, which is bordered to the north by the Sahara desert and to the south by the Sudanese savannah, in order to achieve peace and stability in the region.

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