As UN News reports, most territories in Burkina Faso are under attack by armed groups, which has created an alarming climate of insecurity. High Commissioner Volker Türk stated that the country has witnessed many human rights violations among civilians since the coup in January 2022, and expressed his solidarity with the Burkinabe people.
As the head of the OHCHR points out, the West African state is experiencing a major period of suffering, in which 2.3 million people are experiencing a food crisis, more than two million are displaced and 800,000 children cannot go to school.
Last year, OHCHR documented 1,335 human rights violations and abuses and about 3,800 cases of violations of humanitarian law. In total, about 6.3 million people, out of a population of 20 million, are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Armed groups were responsible for most of the violations against civilians in the fights, which involved more than 86% of the victims.
According to Al-Jazeera, the violence perpetrated over a decade has killed nearly 20,000 people and displaced more than two million in one of the world's poorest countries, in a region plagued by perennial instability.
For example, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) states that 439 people were killed in this violence in January alone. In February, around 170 people, including women and children, were killed in an attack on three villages in the north of Burkina Faso, and another ten civilians following an attack on the Natiaboani mosque during morning prayers.
Türk admitted that the situation in Burkina Faso was not high on the international agenda and that the resources made available were insufficient to meet the needs of the population. He called for a transition of the country and urged the international community not to lose sight of Burkina Faso's needs.
To read more, visit:
https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147851
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/26/rebels-attack-mosque-eastern-burkina-faso
