UNITED NATIONS
UNHCR, UN's refugee agency, is getting ready for a possible return of hundreds of thousands of Malians who were forced to fled the conflict in country's north.
Eduardo del Buey, UN chief's deputy official spokesperson, said UNHCR could open representations in Gao and elsewhere in Mali's north if security conditions allowed.
Buey said 230,000 thousand Malians were internally-displaced and another 150,000 fled to Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Algeria, who he said might return in masses to areas where security have improved following a French-led offensive to root out armed groups from northern Mali.
