Internal displacement in Africa triples in 15 years - monitor

Conflicts, violence and disasters across Africa have dramatically driven up the number of displaced people on the continent over the past 15 years, international monitors said yesterday.

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By the end of last year, Africa counted 35 million people living displaced within their own countries, according to a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).

That is nearly half of the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) worldwide, said IDMC chief Alexandra Bilak.

"We have seen a tripling of the number of IDPs on the African continent over the last 15 years," she said, adding that "the majority of this internal displacement is being caused by conflict and violence, but is also now triggered more and more by disasters".

While IDPs typically receive less focus than refugees who flee across borders, they are far more numerous and their lives are equally turned upside down.