Refugees/IDPs

How to avoid a fourth year of serious flooding in Pakistan

SUKKUR, 21 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - Since 2010, monsoon rain in Pakistan has brought with it some of the biggest seasonal flooding in living memory. Two months from this year’s rains, weather forecasters are already predicting above normal rainfall and in some areas standing water has yet to drain away from last year’s monsoon. full report

Seeking safety in the city

 LONDON, 21 May 2013 (IRIN Global) - Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are forced from their homes by violence or natural disasters. But the face of displacement is changing: While the popular view of displacement is one of sprawling rural camps, displaced people are now just as likely to be living in urban areas, often hidden from view. full report

Libyans in North Africa scared to return home

 CAIRO, 16 May 2013 (IRIN Middle East) - Until government and revolutionary forces attacked the Libyan town of Bani Walid, about 170km southeast of the capital Tripoli in October last year, Abdullah Warfella had been determined never to leave. full report

Evacuation volunteers fan out in Bangladesh

 DHAKA, 16 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - Some 50,000 volunteers in coastal communities across southern Bangladesh are out and about warning people to move to higher ground ahead of Cyclone Mahasen. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated so far. full report

Cape Town's asylum seekers struggle to get documented

 CAPE TOWN, 16 May 2013 (IRIN Africa) - When Jean Baptiste*, a medical student from Lubumbashi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), arrived in South Africa in September 2012, he headed straight for Cape Town, where he knew he would be able to stay with his brother. No one at the border told him that it was no longer possible to apply for asylum in Cape Town. full report

Landmine casualties rising in Kachin, Myanmar

 LAIZA, 15 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - Former rebel fighter Lahpai Hkam has been in pain every day since a landmine destroyed his lower right leg during a battle with government soldiers 18 months ago in Myanmar’s northern Kachin State. full report

Rohingya evacuation under way in Myanmar

 BANGKOK, 14 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - The government of Myanmar has launched a large-scale effort to relocate to higher ground tens of thousands of Rohingya internally displaced persons (IDPs) ahead of Cyclone Mahasen, says the UN. full report

Quelling xenophobia in South Africa's townships

 PHILIPPI, 14 May 2013 (IRIN Africa) - This week marks five years since tensions between foreigners and South Africans living in impoverished communities across the country erupted in xenophobic violence, leaving more than 60 people dead and tens of thousands displaced, their homes and businesses robbed and abandoned. full report

Briefing: Towards internal solutions to the DRC crisis

 KAMPALA, 14 May 2013 (IRIN Africa) - A UN intervention brigade will soon be deployed to the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a bid to neutralize militia groups operating there. full report

Bangladesh, Myanmar brace for Cyclone Mahasen

 BANGKOK, 13 May 2013 (IRIN Asia) - Bangladesh and Myanmar are bracing for Cyclone Mahasen, a storm which could affect millions in the region, the UN has warned. full report

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