高樓低廈,人潮起伏,
名爭利逐,千萬家悲歡離合。

閑雲偶過,新月初現,
燈耀海城,天地間留我孤獨。

舊史再提,故書重讀,
冷眼閑眺,關山未變寂寞!

念人老江湖,心碎家國,
百年瞬息,得失滄海一粟!

徐訏《新年偶感》

2012年5月4日星期五

Mali refugee crisis - in pictures

Fighting between the Malian army, the Tuareg movement and other armed groups is forcing thousands of people to flee Mali to neighbouring countries including Mauritania

Islamist rebels pictured near Timbuktu, in rebel-held northern Mali. In April rebels from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) declared Azawad as an independent state
Fighters from Islamist group Ansar Dine. Two main groups now appear to be competing to govern northern Mali: Ansar Dine, which wants to see sharia law brought to Mali, and the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, who have already declared an independent state
Fighters from Ansar Dine stand guard during the handover of a Swiss hostage who was about to be taken by helicopter to neighbouring Burkina Faso
Malian troops who carried out a coup in March guard a street after renewed fighting in the capital, Bamako. Forces battled troops loyal to ousted president, Amadou Toumani Touré
A fighter from the Ansar Dine group makes a gesture
Malian citizens protest as leaders attend the Economic Community of West African States meeting in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, at which the Mali crisis and Guinea-Bissau coup were discussed
Malian refugees at the M'bere refugee camp, near Bassiknou in southern Mauritania, 37 miles from the border with Mali. Conflict between Tuareg rebels and Mali authorities has been ongoing since January sparking a growing humanitarian crisis
A Malian refugee holds her baby in the M'bere refugee camp near Bassiknou. More than 320,000 people have fled their homes in Mali since mid-January, with more than half seeking refuge in neighbouring countries
A young girl in the M'bere refugee camp. Humanitarian assistance is all the more critical because the Sahel region is facing a severe food crisis after several years of drought
A malnurished Malian child is weighed at the Médecins Sans Frontières medical centre in the M'bere refugee camp
A Malian child and his parents wait to be treated at M'bere refugee camp
Malian refugees set up a tent in the M'bere refugee camp, which receives an average of 1,000 refugees a day
Refugees stand at a water distribution point in the camp
Ibrahim Boubakr, a Malian refugee, arrives with family members at the M'bere camp
A sick child lays on a cart as she waits to be treated. Médecins Sans Frontières is bolstering its activities and emergency medical aid in the desert area, where access to medical care is extremely limited
A woman tends to a malnurished child at the Medecins sans Frontires medical centre. Refugees are primarily Tuareg families from the Timbuktu region. They arrive here exhausted after a two-day journey by truck
A Malian refugee shouts for water at a distribution point in the M'bere refugee camp. A great number of people are suffering from respiratory infections and diarrhea owing to a lack of access to water, exposure to extreme temperatures, and frequent sand storms, according to MSF's medical co-ordinator Jean-Paul Jemmy