Most traditional housing units are made of adobe, mud, and/or quirinton, a combination of woven branches and straw. Most of these units use petrol lamps for lighting; they do not have no sewage system or septic tank and water is usually available from wells or springs. Though most of the population lives in rural areas, recent migration to urban areas has accounted for urban housing shortages. In 1998, civil unrest in the capital forced about 300,000 residents out of there homes and about 5,000 homes were destroyed. As of the end of 1999, 50,000 of these people were still displaced. In 2001, there were about 7,000 refugees in the country as well, mostly from Senegal. Many of these have been placed in temporary camp shelters.
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