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photo : UNHCR

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged the international community to make greater efforts to reduce the deadly risks for displaced people posed by landmines and improvised explosive devices in Africa’s Sahel and Lake Chad basin regions, which have been the site of ongoing conflicts, according to a press release issued on Tuesday. According to the UN agency, mines, unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices that numerous anti-government and non-state armed groups widely use to target security forces are killing and injuring an increasing number of civilians. Among the most affected countries in this regard are Sahel's Chad and Nigeria, the agency added. In a recent incident, four refugee minors were killed and three others injured in a refugee camp in eastern Chad after picking up an unexploded device and trying to open it. Since the beginning of 2020, more than 15 of such incidents have been reported. According to the UN agency, the region is currently facing one of the fastest growing displacement crises in the world, with a million people having fled attacks by armed groups against civilians and state institutions, including schools and health facilities. The agency added that the presence of explosive devices is also affecting the delivery of humanitarian aid and development activities//sputnik