In Burkina Faso, over 237,000 locals displaced since 2021

More than 237,000 people have been forced to flee their localities since the beginning of the year in Burkina Faso, a country facing deadly terrorist attacks, bringing the total number of displaced to more than 1.3 million, local authorities announced Wednesday.

“237,078 internally displaced persons were registered in the first half of 2021, bringing the number of internally displaced persons from 1,074,993 as of December 31, 2020, to 1,312,071 as of June 30, 2021,” said Ousséni Tamboura, Minister of Communication and Government Spokesman, speaking on the sidelines of the Council of Ministers’ examination of a report on the country’s humanitarian situation.

The majority of displaced persons are “60.55% children” and “23.4% women,” he added.

A total of 271 municipalities in the country are affected, according to the National Council for Emergency Relief (Conasur), mostly in the center, north, and east of the country, the regions most affected by the attacks.

“Faced with this situation, a distribution of 30,000 tons of cereals has been made since March 31 for the benefit of some 848,925 people, including more than 400,000 displaced persons and other vulnerable groups, particularly victims of natural disasters,” the government spokesman announced.

Security forces are struggling to stem a spiral of terrorist violence that has left more than 1,500 people dead since 2015.