Forced by war or humanitarian disasters to flee their homes but keeping within the borders of their own countries, 12 million so-called "internally displaced persons" face a legal and human tragedy in Africa. Calling it "one of the biggest under-addressed challenges facing Africa", Dennis McNamara, the United Nations emergency relief coordinator and director of the Inter-Agency Internal Displacement Division, says urgent attention must be paid to the uprooted civilian population in countries like Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Burundi.