Save the Children (Westport, CT)
PRESS RELEASE
More than 136,000 people, including nearly 74,000 children, are trapped in the city of Timbuktu in northern Mali, with armed groups preventing the entry of food, medicines and other essential supplies, Save the Children said.
The siege of the historic city, which started in August, has led to a worsening humanitarian catastrophe, with only limited food allowed in. The UN estimates that while at least 33,000 people have been displaced around Timbuktu since the crisis began, the rate of people fleeing has slowed down in recent months, following attacks on displaced people. In one particularly violent episode in September, 49 civilians were killed on a boat while trying to escape the besieged city.