The number of forcibly displaced is over 100 million This week's best story | Halek Hossain

 

THIS WEEK’S TOP STORIES

The number of forcibly displaced is over 100 million. The number of people forced to flee Ukraine due to violence, conflict, human rights violations and persecution caused by the war and other conflicts has crossed the 100 million milestone for the first time on record, the UNHCR said this week. "This is a record that should never have been set," said Filippo Grandi, the UN High 

Commissioner for Refugees. "It must act as a wake-up call to end the destructive conflict, the persecution and the underlying causes, and to force innocent people to flee their homes." Conflicts in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and elsewhere have pushed the number of displaced people to 90 million by the end of 2021. This year, the war in Ukraine displaced 8 million people in their country while 6 million refugee movements from 

Ukraine were registered. The 100 million numbers include refugees, asylum seekers and those displaced by conflict or violence within their own country. UNHCR will publish a complete set of global data on forced displacement for 16 June 2021 in its annual Global Trends Report.

Violent fighting in the eastern DR Congo has displaced thousands of people. At least 72,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu province have been displaced in recent days by fighting between government forces and militias claiming to be part of the M23 armed group. According to the UNHCR, about 7,000 people who were forced to flee last week have fled to neighboring 

Uganda, a country already hosting more than 1.5 million refugees. Clashes this week centered about 25 kilometers north of the provincial capital Goma. The UNHCR says those advancing have faced continued violence, including rape and physical threats. Some are taking refuge in sites set up for people fleeing the Niragango volcano eruption in May 2021, but the UNHCR says aid is scarce due to low funding and difficulties in access to areas affected by the violence. The war erupted as communities previously displaced by insecurity in the region began to return home temporarily to re-establish their lives.

Dozens are missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia. Seventy-five people are believed to be missing and dead after their boat sank off the coast of Tunisia on Tuesday. 

The boat was carrying about 100 people when it left the Libyan port city of Juwara, but the Tunisian Coast Guard was able to rescue only 24 people and one body was recovered. In a separate incident late Tuesday, the Spanish NGO Open Arms, which conducts search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean, found another boat in Tunisian waters. 

The overloaded boat sank when the agency called for help from Italy and Malta. Although the Open Arms rescued people from the water, a spokesman said it was night and could not confirm whether they had rescued everyone. Earlier this week, 574 people had died or gone missing in the Mediterranean so far this year, according to the UNHCR. The agency said it was the beginning of the season when calm waters usually increased the number of boats trying to cross the Mediterranean.

STORIES TO WATCH

Protests on the U.S.-Mexico border after the judge blocked the raising of Title 42. Immigrants across northern Mexico have expressed frustration and frustration this week after the U.S. government failed to lift an epidemic-era policy that has prevented many of them from seeking asylum in the United States. More than two years. A ruling by a federal judge in Louisiana on Friday meant that the policy, known as Title 42, could not end on Monday as planned. 

The Biden administration has said it will appeal the decision. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that it is moving forward with other changes at the border aimed at better handling newcomers and speeding up the processing of asylum claims. This includes allowing U.S. asylum officers to try claims directly instead of sending them back to the immigration court, and court-directed screening to determine whether certain asylum-seeking families should be exempted from Title 42.

Somalia's growing drought demands life. Reuters reports from the Somali city of Dolo, where families displaced by the worst drought in 40 years have become so weakened by hunger that some young children are dying. A camp set up in the city in January now houses 13,000 people but has enough help to help about half of them. As of May, more than 6 million people have been affected by the drought, with 771,400 forced to flee their homes in search of water, food and pasture.

While six regions of the country are now at risk of famine, according to the United Nations, a plan to provide emergency aid has been funded only 15 percent. In its latest update, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it expects the state of emergency to worsen as the next monsoon season is expected to be below average.

Boats carrying 842 Haitians abandoned at sea. The UNHCR today expressed concern over the growing number of people at risk of dangerous voyages by sea from the Caribbean, especially from Haiti. The worrying trend was highlighted this week by the arrival of a ship carrying more than 800 Haitians in 

Cuba. Some of the boat's passengers told the AP that they paid the smugglers thousands of dollars to reach the United States before being taken on a dilapidated boat, which was later abandoned by its captain and kept afloat for several days before being rescued by Cuban authorities. 

A rise in gang-related violence, political instability and high unemployment has prompted thousands of Haitians to flee their country in the past year. Describing the humanitarian and security situation in Haiti as "terrible", the UNHCR warned against pushbacks and forced repatriation, and said it was working with governments in the region to strengthen reception and asylum.