Violence in Burkina Faso 'displaces' over 1.8M people

Violence has internally displaced over 1.8 million people in Burkina Faso, almost 10 percent of the country’s population.

That number keeps growing every day, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned on Wednesday.

“Many of those displaced now rely on aid to survive, with 15 percent of the population in the country currently facing food insecurity,” the ICRC said in a statement.

The conflict has aggravated the food crisis in Burkina Faso, where 80 percent of the country’s population relies on agriculture for their livelihood.

The most vulnerable are pregnant women and newborn children, the ICRC said, adding that 1 in 10 children in Burkina Faso is facing malnutrition.

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Millions face malnutrition

The compounding crises are pushing the country’s health care system to the brink.

The Sahel region is being hit by the worst drought in over a decade, pushing more than 10.5 million people into malnutrition, according to the ICRC.

Burkina Faso has been battling armed fighting that has spread from neighbouring Mali over the past decade.

Armed groups affiliated with Al Qaeda and Daesh have regularly carried out attacks in northern and eastern Burkina Faso since 2015, killing more than 2,000 people and causing displacement.

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