More than 2,000 Guinean gold miners arrive in Yanfolila, Mali
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Bamada.net
More than 2,000 gold miners from Guinea have been registered in Yanfolila, in Mali’s Bougouni region, after being expelled from Guinea. The reception site, designed for 800 to 1,000 people, has been overwhelmed and new arrivals are being reported in Kéniéba, according to Bamada.net.
In Yanfolila, in Mali’s Bougouni region, more than 2,000 gold miners arriving from Guinea have already been registered at a youth centre converted into a reception site, according to Bourama Diawara, president of the local youth association. Arrivals have continued since gold miners were expelled from Guinea, while reception capacity and gold-mining sites are under heavy pressure.
The Yanfolila youth centre can accommodate only about 800 to 1,000 people, fewer than the number already registered, according to Diawara. Officials halted registrations and then carried out an evacuation in an attempt to control the influx, while new arrivals have been reported at the Sekoro and Kalana sites.
In Kéniéba, in Mali’s Kayes region, gold miners from Guinea are also continuing to arrive, according to Farin Keita, president of the Association for the Promotion of Water, Hygiene and Sanitation. He said he had seen at least eight motorbike taxis transporting gold miners from Dandougou, near the Guinean gold-mining sites. Young people in Yanfolila and Kéniéba are calling on the authorities to strengthen reception arrangements and organise the repatriation of people turned back.
