Hundreds of Malians displaced by the recent unrest in their country that forced them out of their homes say they want to go back as soon as the security situation improves and they get the means to trek their way back, a study by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.
An IOM survey of internally displaced families from the northern areas of Mali living in the capital, Bamako, and the adjacent town of Koulikoro, have indicated that 93 per cent of them want to return home as soon as the security and economic conditions permit, a news release issued by the IOM said.
The telephone survey, which was conducted earlier this month, polled 836 families from the northern towns of Timbuktu and Gao, which were under rebel occupation until their liberation by French and Malian forces in January, the release received by PANA in Khartoum said.
The survey showed that 93 per cent of respondents intend to return to their region of origin. Of these, 92 per cent plan to return to their former houses. Some 23 per cent plan to return this month, while 32 per cent said they would return between March and the end of the year.
Two-thirds of undecided families said that they would decide on a date based on the security situation on the ground. Some 89 per cent of respondents expected the security situation to improve soon – suggesting many will return to the north in the near future, the survey said.
Pana 16/02/2013