Sahel: two million internally displaced persons, a level never reached according to the UN

Two million people have been internally displaced in the Sahel region, plagued by jihadist violence, a "

" record, the UN said on Friday.

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In a statement, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) calls for an end to the "

" in the Sahel, "

”.

Internal displacement in the region - which includes Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Niger - "

" according to the agency.

More than half of the displaced people in the region are Burkinabés.

Since the start of the year alone, violence in Niger and Burkina Faso has forced more than 21,000 people to flee their homes and seek refuge in their own countries, according to UNHCR.

And in Burkina Faso, since December 31, a series of armed attacks in the town of Koumbri and neighboring villages in the north of the country have displaced more than 11,000 people.

The Sahel also hosts more than 850,000 refugees, mainly from Mali.