Burkina Faso: More than 2 million people displaced

Violence linked to alQaida and the Islamic State group has made Burkina Faso a country with one of the worlds fastestgrowing populations of internally displaced people with the number mushrooming by more than 2000 per cent since 2019 according to government data AP reportedAccording to AP report figures released last month showed more than 2 million people are internally displaced in the West African nation the majority of them women and children fuelling a dire humanitarian crisis as the conflict pushed people from their homes off their farms and into congested urban areas or makeshift campsAid groups and the government are scrambling to respond amid a lack of funds and growing needsOne in four people requires aid and tens of thousands are facing catastrophic levels of hunger Yet not even half of the USD 800 million humanitarian response budget requested last year by aid groups was funded according to the United NationsThe spectrum of consequences for people is vast but grim at every point A lot of people might die and theyre dying because they werent able to access food and health services because they werent properly protected and the humanitarian assistance and the government response wasnt sufficient Alexandra Lamarche a senior fellow at advocacy group Refugees International saidThe violence has divided a oncepeaceful nation leading to two coups last year Military leaders vowed to to stem the insecurity but jihadi attacks have continued and spread since Capt Ibrahim Traore seized power in SeptemberThe government retains control of less than 50 per cent of the country largely in rural areas according to conflict analysts AlQaida and Islamic Stateaffiliated groups control or threaten large areas said Rida Lyammouri senior fellow at the Policy Centre for the New South a Moroccobased think tankState security forces dont have the resources human and equipment to fight both groups at all fronts he said The jihadis strategy of blocking towns preventing people from moving freely and goods from flowing in has compounded the displacement crisis Some 800000 people in more than 20 towns are under siege say aid groupsThe situation is very difficult People dont have food children dont have school Bibata Sangli 53 who left the eastern town of Pama in January 2022 just before it came under siege She still has family there who are unable to leave Sangli saidA community leader who last year met Jafar Dicko the top jihadi in Burkina Faso said Dickos group blockades towns that dont accept its rules such as banning alcohol and requiring women to be veiled their faces The leader spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasnt authorized to speak to the mediaIn January the United Nations began using Chinook heavylift helicopters to airlift food to areas inaccessible by road an extremely costly approach The three Chinooks were reduced to one in May making it harder to reach many people as quickly While the humanitarian situation deteriorates so has the ability of aid groups to operateSince the military takeovers of Burkina Fasos government began in January 2022 incidents against aid organizations perpetrated by the security forces increased from one in 2021 to 11 last year according to unpublished data for aid groups seen by The Associated Press The incidents included workers being arrested detained and injuredIn November security forces killed a humanitarian worker with a Burkina Faso aid organisation in the Sahel region the vast expanse below the Sahara Desert according to a text message sent to an aid worker WhatsApp group seen by the AP Rights groups analysts and civilians say Traore the junta leader is only focused on achieving military gains and cares little about human rights freedom of speech or holding people accountable for indiscriminate killings of individuals suspected of supporting the militantsBurkina Fasos security forces killed at least 150 civilians in the north in April according to local residents from the village of Karma where most of the violence took place Prosecutors said they opened an investigation into the killings Earlier this year an AP investigation into a video circulating on social media determined that Burkina Fasos security forces killed children at a military base in the countrys northWhile the government wages war civilians bear the brunt and are running out of hope After jihadis attacked his village in eastern Burkina Faso in April killing people and stealing cattle a father of five who did not want to be identified for security reasons fled to the regions main town of Fada NGourmaBut now his family doesnt have food or access to health care and the assistance supplied by humanitarian groups isnt enough he said Since weve been displaced our situation keeps getting worse the 46yearold man said I miss my homeSource AP