Heavy fighting continued throughout Syria, with shelling reported from all but two of the Governorates in the country. The violence in densely populated places, including Aleppo, Homs, Deir-ez-Zor, Idleb and central Damascus remained intense. More than 400,000 people have fled Syria since 1 January, bringing the total number of Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries to around 1.32 million as of 14 April, according to UNHCR.
In the north of Mali, France led a major offensive on 9 April in an attempt to establish control over the northern territories before the deployment of UN peacekeepers and as French troops start withdrawing. Meanwhile, the security situation remains volatile with continued asymmetric attacks carried out by Islamist militants in the main northern towns.
Fresh tribal clashes in central and southern Darfur in Sudan erupted despite the signing of a peace treaty between leaders of the Misseriya and Salamat tribes on 10 April. Some 50,000 refugees arrived in Chad following the clashes in the past week alone, marking the largest influx of refugees from Sudan to Chad since 2005, according to UNHCR.
The humanitarian crisis linked to violence and the related power struggle in the Central African Republic is now affecting the whole population of 4.6 million people in the country, according to UNICEF. More than 2.3 million of these are children. In Bangui, violent clashes erupted between supporters of the new authorities and armed youth loyal to the former President Bozizé, killing 20 people.
