Ouagadougou - United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon's special envoy for West Africa on Tuesday called for a halt in fighting between Tuareg soldiers and the Malian army to allow aid to reach the displaced.
"The United Nations backs current efforts aimed at creating conditions for a dialogue between the two parties," said Special Representative Said Djinnit after holding talks with Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore.
"This dialogue must start with the cessation of hostilities to allow the passage of humanitarian aid to displaced people in Mali and those living as refugees in neighbouring countries."
Tuareg rebels, many of whom recently returned from fighting for fallen Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, have launched several attacks on towns in northern Mali since mid-January, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.
They have struck up a decades-old battle for autonomy for the nomadic desert tribe which is scattered between Algeria, Burkina Faso, Libya, Mali and Niger.
Mali and Niger experienced similar uprisings in the 1960s, 1990s and early 2000 with a resurgence between 2006 and 2009.
The fighting has claimed several lives and wounded many but there are no independent precise casualty figures.
About 170 000 people have fled their homes due to the fighting. They are scattered across Mali and are also sheltered in refugee camps in neighbouring Niger, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Algeria. - Sapa-AFP
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