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AFP
Nearly 72,000 people displaced by fighting in northern Mali between the army and Tuareg rebels are living rough and need help, the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Friday.

The wounded "need care as soon as possible and prisoners have the right to be visited. The displaced and the communities hosting them are often in a precarious situation," said Juerg Eglin, ICRC head of mission to Niger.

The ICRC and the Malian Red Cross on Friday started distributing food and essential supplies to more than 28,000 people displaced in the northern Gao region.

The United Nations humanitarian office OCHA said Thursday that the clashes have forced 195,000 people to flee their homes since mid-January. The refugees have headed mostly to Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Algeria.

Tuareg rebels are waging their biggest offensive since a 2009 rebellion as they demand autonomy in Mali's vast north, and have launched several attacks on towns.

There have been reports of scores of executions, and deaths of civilians and soldiers in the fighting.

Many of the refugees are fleeing to areas facing severe food shortages as a result of low rainfall, meagre harvests and high food prices.

A nomadic community of some 1.5 million people, Tuareg of various tribes are scattered between Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Niger and Mali.

Mali and Niger experienced uprisings as the Tuareg fought for recognition of their identity and an independent state in the 1960s, 1990s and early 2000s, with a resurgence between 2006 and 2009.