Around 120,000 Malian refugees are sheltering at the Mbera camp in Mauritania's Hodh Chargui region (a remote area bordering northeastern Mali), part of a broader population of some 300,000 who have fled a decade-long security crisis driven by jihadist violence, armed separatists, and criminal gangs. Nearly 14,000 additional people — mostly women and children — have arrived since October alone, driven by JNIM jihadist blockades on Malian towns and reported atrocities by Russian Wagner Group contractors and the Malian army. Aid organisations warn that resources in the host region are already strained, with mounting pressure on grazing land, water, and healthcare, while many refugees say they will not return home until Wagner forces leave and lasting peace is restored.