The Scarring Wounds of Burkina Faso

Earlier this year, 25-year-old Bibata Diande witnessed a group of armed men set her house on fire (Reuters). Fearful for her own safety, she ran to hide in a bush, returning later that night to find her home destroyed. Following the attacks, she quickly fled from the village with her family, and now lives in a displacement camp with little access to food or water. And as abominable as it may seem, her story describes just one of many experiences for the hundreds of thousands of displaced victims in her home country. 

Currently, a humanitarian crisis plagues Burkina Faso, a landlocked African country bordering Mali and Niger. Experts reveal that due to rises in both extremism and intercommunal fighting, schools have closed, and people have been displaced and pushed into acute cycles of malnutrition and poverty. Indeed, the magnitude of the crisis is exceedingly large, with a staggering average of 1,000 more people being displaced from their homes every day (Reuters). 

One root of the conflict can be traced back to the spread of extremism that has infiltrated the country. For many years, Burkina Faso was immune to the terrorist attacks that ensnared its neighbors in an incessant cycle of violence and fear. But with a new president, Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, came new policies. In the past, the state government had a deal with Islamic militants that allowed them to get safe passage throughout the country in exchange for leaving it unscathed. However, after Kaboré was elected in 2015, he pulled out of this deal, angering the terrorists and triggering the start of the attacks (Dewast). Now, the goal of these jihadist terrorists is to destroy the state administration, and they do so by “exploiting anger with the government in the most impoverished [and vulnerable] regions” (Maclean). Unfortunately, with a weak defense system and a government that is both unwilling to cooperate with these terrorists and lacks the resources to supply aid, few services are being provided to those who are displaced by extremist attacks. As a result, many locals and criminal groups have begun networking and forging connections with terrorists, who supply them with more services than the state. These locals are then trained by extremists to take up arms, further contributing to the influx of violent attacks that have forced thousands to flee from their homes in fear (Maclean). 

Problematically, the extent of this violence has caused ethnic fighting and tensions to break out as well. Currently, the Mossi ethnic group are persecuting and accusing the Fulani minority of being accomplices to the terrorists (Reuters). This is because they view them as an easy scapegoat, as they have little political influence and access to education. On top of this, the dry and arid Sahel climate has caused increased tensions through food insecurity. More specifically, the Fulani are nomadic herders, and the Mossi majority are agricultural farmers, and the drought that beleaguers the region forces these two groups to compete for scarce natural resources, such as water and fertile land, to sustain their needs (McLaughlin). Coupled with the rise in violent extremism, this has ultimately increased fighting within ethnic communities. 

As a result, violence has caused schools to close, pushed thousands out of their homes, and left many malnourished in overcrowded displacement camps that severely lack sufficient aid resources (Reuters). Unfortunately, the crisis only continues to get worse because of the lack of importance placed on it and initiatives taken to work against it. According to Ruth Maclean, a West Africa correspondent for the Guardian News, French troops are holding back from intervention, and the US has cut down its deployed forces in the region by ¼ (Maclean). Moreover, the UN Refugee Agency reports that their financial requirements for Burkina Faso this year were only 26 percent fulfilled (UNHCR). Because of a weak state government, this lack support from the international community has meant that not enough aid is flowing in and far too little is being done to combat terrorism in the region. Thus, until more assistance steps in relieve the country’s suffering, it is only likely that the humanitarian crisis will grow and intensify. 

Works Cited

Dewast, Louise. “Burkina Faso - the Country Where It's Too Dangerous to Go to School.” BBC News, BBC, 11 Mar. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-47495038.

Maclean, Ruth. “'Alarming' Burkina Faso Unrest Threatens West African Stability.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 7 Mar. 2019, www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/07/alarming-burkina-faso-unrest-threatens-west-african-stability.

McLaughlin, Melissa. “Ethnic Violence Is Rising In Burkina Faso Along With Violent Extremism.” The Organization for World Peace, 10 Mar. 2019, theowp.org/ethnic-violence-is-rising-in-burkina-faso-along-with-violent-extremism/.

Reuters, and Reuters. “Violence Sparks First Major Humanitarian Crisis in Burkina Faso.” VOA, VOA, 11 Mar. 2019, www.voanews.com/a/violence-sparks-first-major-humanitarian-crisis-in-burkina-faso/4824538.html.

United Nations. “Continued Insecurity Hampering Aid Efforts in Burkina Faso.” UNHCR, 12. Mar 2019, www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2019/3/5c8776214/continued-insecurity-hampering-aid-efforts-burkina-faso.html.