NIAMEY:- Incursions by jihadist insurgents into western Niger from neighbouring Mali have caused more than 16,000 people to flee their homes since the start of the year, the UN said Wednesday. "Growing insecurity since January has caused the number of displaced people to leap," the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said. "More than 16,000 people are internally displaced in the regions of Tillaberi and Tahoua," it said, referring to two regions near the border with Mali. It blamed "repeated attacks by armed non-state groups" and an "intensification of inter-community conflicts" on the Niger-Mali border.–AFP