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Suspected armed fighters 'abduct' about 50 women in Burkina Faso

Several women managed to escape following two separate abductions in the Sahel region but the army and its civilian auxiliaries have so far failed to rescue the rest of the victims.

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Thousands of civilians and members of the security forces have died, and around two million people have been displaced as Burkina Faso continues to struggle with an armed offensive since 2015.

Suspected armed fighters have abducted roughly 50 women in two separate attacks in insurgency-wracked northern Burkina Faso.

According to local officials and residents, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Sunday, the first incident took place about a dozen kilometres southeast of Arbinda on Thursday, during which roughly 40 women were seized.

"The women got together to go and gather leaves and wild fruits in the bush because there is nothing left to eat," said one of the residents, adding that they had left with their carts on Thursday.

"On Thursday evening, when they didn't come back, we thought that their carts had had a problem. But three survivors came back to tell us what happened," said another resident.

In a separate incident on Friday about eight kilometres north of Arbinda, about 20 other women who were unaware of the first abduction, were also taken by the gunmen, according to the same source.

"In both groups, some women managed to escape and returned to the village on foot," the resident added.

"We believe that the kidnappers took them to their bases."

Since 2015, Burkina Faso has been grappling with an insurgency led by armed fighters affiliated with Al Qaeda and the Daesh terror group that has killed tens of thousands and displaced around two million people.

Hard-hit town of Arbinda

According to local officials who confirmed the abductions, the army and its civilian auxiliaries have carried out unsuccessful sweeps of the area.

Arbinda is in the Sahel region of northern Burkina Faso, an area under blockade by armed groups and with limited food supplies.

The town and surrounding areas are regularly beset by attacks which often target civilians.

In August 2021, 80 people, including 65 civilians, were killed in an attack on a convoy taking them to Arbinda.

And in December 2019, 35 civilians were among a group of 42 people who died in an attack on the town itself.

In November 2022, Idrissa Badini, a civil society spokesman, raised alarm about the situation in Arbinda: "The population, which has used up its reserves, is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster," he said.

The United Nations says nearly one million people are living in blockaded areas in the north and east.

Disgruntled army officers have carried out two coups this year in a show of anger at failures to roll back the insurgency.

SOURCE: AFP