The north of Burkina Faso is regularly the scene of violence. Local officials and residents of the town of Abinda told AFP on Sunday January 15 that around sixty women had been kidnapped in this area of the Sahel under blockade by jihadist groups, with difficulty getting food.
“The women have come together [jeudi] to pick leaves and wild fruits in the bush because there is nothing left to eat”, one of the residents told AFP. “Thursday evening, not seeing them return, we thought that their carts had had a problem. But three survivors came back to tell us what happened”, added another resident.
A search turned up nothing.
According to the testimony of several residents and local officials wishing to remain anonymous, a first group of about forty women was kidnapped about ten kilometers south-east of Arbinda and another of about twenty the next day north of this municipality. “In both groups, women managed to escape the vigilance of the terrorists and returned to the village on foot,” he explained. “We believe that the kidnappers took them to their various bases”he continued.
According to local officials who confirmed the abductions, the army and its civilian auxiliaries searched the area, without success. Burkina Faso, particularly in its northern half, has been confronted since 2015 with increasing attacks by jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. They left thousands dead and at least two million displaced.